Speeding Through Life
by PSIness11
Summary: Some people would think life in the world of Fairy Tail is all fun and games. I did too - until I got my reality check. Fantastical as it may be, it's still a world full of harsh realities. Faced with everything a world like that could throw at me...well, could I really be expected to stay the same? (Self-Insert) [OC/Juvia]
1. New World, New Me

**A.N. Teninishigen and I decided to improve upon chapter one of the story, and make it more hooking and interesting.**

* * *

I always wondered what would happen after I died.

Would I fade away into nothingness, gone as if I were never there at all? Would there be a judgement - would I be faced with the culmination of my actions on Earth and have my fate decided that way? Would there be a Heaven? A Hell?

Thoughts like those were enough to keep me up at night, so I tried to think about other things - lively things, active things. I didn't need to spend my life scared to death, after all.

No, no one likes to think about death.

So of course, when I hit the end of the line, it was the last thing on my mind.

It was an accident - a car crash to be specific, the same event that kills thousands of people around the world each year. A death like that didn't seem quite so amusingly cliché when I looked back on it; a moment of distraction, a glance away as I was shifting lanes, then the sound of a horn an instant before the world started screaming and my senses became less than useless.

People say your life flashes before your eyes when you come close to death. Well, I don't know about that - but all I saw was a the world turned upside down, then a cloud of glass, asphalt and metal fragments.

It was almost beautiful - then all of it hit my eyes, and I lost any chance of appreciating it further.

By the time the car came to rest, I was already too far gone to feel relief. I was almost disconnected from the agony which enveloped me; blinded, with a sharp ringing in my ears and blood pooling in my throat - and the new, yet unmistakable sensation of my life flowing away.

It wasn't a quick death - neither was it peaceful, nor was there anyone with me to soothe it.

I died alone and in pain, trapped and deprived of my senses in the cage of glass and metal made by my own hand. Seventeen years of life - ended in the time it took for my body to finish turning off the lights and for my brain to lock up on its way out.

* * *

 _ **The story was written up by the next day; a picture, taken during a recent school event, depicted a young, caucasian man with blond hair and bright blue eyes, grinning at the camera.**_

 _HIGHWAY ACCIDENT CLAIMS LIFE OF YOUNG DRIVER_

 _Late yesterday evening on the highway near ********, David Robinson (17), pictured above, was killed in a collision with another driver. David, who was set to begin his final year of education after summer break, was running an errand for his parents when the tragedy occurred…_

 _...a great loss, and a stark reminder of the dangers involved with driving. We here at the *** Newspaper wish the Robinsons the best in these trying times._

* * *

I always believed I was set for a life of mediocrity - one more 5'11 blond with blue eyes; an 'average joe'.

Well, I never did get to living that life of mediocrity - maybe that was some kind of blessing in disguise...or maybe that was just an insult.

To myself or the living? Hell if I know.

I certainly wasn't among that number; not judging by the infinite black expanse that had replaced my reality.

I wasn't sure if my senses were working or not; there was no stimulus in the black. There was nothing grand, hellish or judgemental about it - it was actually kind of soothing; that this was a place where everyone, whether they be some great martyr or just someone like me, could be equal.

Compared to everything I had thought this place might be...this wasn't so bad.

Still, with nothing to do but think to myself, I ended up considering my surroundings more. _Was_ this the only afterlife? Or was it maybe limbo - a space between, for people neither evil enough for Hell or good enough for Heaven?

An average space for an average person…

Maybe that was it. Maybe this was my fate; to hang here in the void, alone with my thoughts for all eternity - an existence defined by talking to myself with no voice.

' _...You know what? Now that I'm getting over the whole 'dying' thing, this place_ fucking sucks _. I already feel like I'm going crazy...fucking hell, I STARTED TALKING TO MYSELF ALREADY!'_

The more my thoughts returned to their usual progression as whatever system I was running from recovered from the shock it had taken, the more of an effect I found the space around me having.

For a place with nothing in it, it was _really_ getting to me. I don't even know how long it's been - hours, maybe? Or just minutes?

' _What I'd give for something el-'_

 **IF YOU HAD A CHANCE TO LIVE AGAIN...WOULD YOU TAKE IT?**

' _Wait...there's someone else here? I can_ hear _them?'_

 **YOU DIDN'T THINK YOU WERE ALONE, DID YOU?**

' _What the Hell reason would I have to think there was anyone else here? Besides...this place got to me.'_

 **YOU ARE NOT THE FIRST SOUL UNSETTLED BY THIS PLACE - NOR SHALL YOU BE THE LAST.**

' _I suppose I should be grateful - having someone else around seems to stop me going crazy.'_

 **I THANK YOU FOR YOUR GRATITUDE. HOWEVER, MY QUESTION REQUIRES AN ANSWER, IF YOU CAN EXERCISE THAT HARD-WON SANITY OF YOURS.**

' _A chance to live again, huh? Well of course I'd take a chance like that - I'd do it in a second, even!'_

 **WELL IN THAT CASE, YOU FULFIL MY REQUIREMENTS.**

' _...So, you're going to give me another chance at life - just because I want it?'_

 **NOT PRECISELY.**

' _There's always a catch, isn't there?'_

 **ALWAYS. THERE IS BALANCE IN ALL THINGS - EQUIVALENT EXCHANGE, AS YOU KNOW IT.**

' _Well, let's hear it then.'_

 **THE CONDITION OF YOUR RETURN TO THE LIVING WOULD BE A...CHANGE OF VENUE. A NEW LIFE IN A NEW WORLD, IN EXCHANGE FOR THE END OF A LIFE IN YOUR OLD WORLD.**

' _That's fine - send me there then.'_

 **THIS MAY NOT BE WHAT YOU ANTI...WAIT, PARDON?**

' _I'm down; send me there.'_

 **YOU ACT WITH GREAT HASTE FOR SUCH A WEIGHTY DECISION. DO YOU NOT WISH TO HEAR THE DETAILS OF THE NEW WORLD YOU WOULD INHABIT?**

' _Well, I'm hardly going to say no; that'd be fucking stupid.'_

 **YOU ARE...A RATHER CONTRADICTORY PERSON.**

' _Sorry - that happens when I get excited.'_

 **HM. IN ANY CASE, YOUR NEW HOME WILL BE A WORLD OF MAGIC AND-**

' _It's Harry Potter, isn't it?'_

 **...NO, IT IS NOT.**

' _Highschool DxD?'_

 **NO.**

' _Fairy Tail?'_

 **N...YES.**

' _Nice! Can I get some sweet magic? Like Dragon Slayer Magic? Oh, or what about God Slayer? Even Gravity would be epic - or hell, something like Wood Magic; then I could be like Hashirama…'_

 **TO PETITION FOR A GIFT OF SUCH POWER ATOP THAT OF A NEW LIFE WOULD BE TO OVERREACH THE BALANCE OF YOUR DEATH. YOU** _ **SHALL**_ **RECEIVE A GIFT OF MAGIC, BUT IT WILL BE UP TO YOU TO MAKE IT POWERFUL.**

' _Aw, c'mon man…'_

 **ALLOW ME TO SIMPLIFY THIS - NO.**

' _I'd be sighing right now if I had lungs...but fine._

' _Still...thank you, for this. From the bottom of my heart man, just...thank you for this chance. There's no way I could ever repay you for this.'_

 **MAKE NO MENTION OF IT.**

' _Alright - but, before you do...whatever you're gonna do...just who are you, anyway?'_

 **THERE ARE AS MANY ANSWERS TO THAT QUESTION AS CAN BE CONCEIVED OF IN THE MINDS OF MAN AND AS MANY AGAIN AS THAT VALUE TO ITS OWN POWER. HOWEVER, THE SIMPLEST ANSWER WOULD BE 'GOD'.**

' _...Okay, in retrospect, probably should've seen that one coming. You do this for everyone who dies?'_

 **NOT EVERY SOUL - AND NOT EVEN EVERY SOUL WHICH PASSES THROUGH THIS PLANE. HOWEVER, EVERY SOUL GETS ONE ACT OF DIVINE INTERVENTION IN YOUR LIFETIME; THIS, LATE AS IT MAY BE FROM YOUR PERSPECTIVE, IS YOURS.**

' _...Wait, so where were you when I was about to die then?'_

 **...THERE IS A SAYING AMONG HUMANS WHICH APPLIES HERE. 'FAITH CAN MAKE A SOUL IMMORTAL - BUT KEEPING A MAN ALIVE IS KEVLAR'S JOB.'**

' _...But how does that ap-'_

* * *

 _LIFE_

In an instant, everything that I had felt grind to a stop in myself seemed to come back online. My lungs drew in air, my heart started pumping blood, I could feel the clothes on my body and grass beneath my head and the backs of my hands.

The sound of birds and wind in plants reached my ears, along with the smell of earth and some unknown pollen.

And finally, I opened my eyes, squinting as I adjusted to the sunlight, and looked out upon my new world.

And I saw that it was good.

' _Well, now I know what it's like to lose all sensation in agonizing slowness_ and _what it's like to gain it all back in an instant. Lets hope I never have to relive either of those.'_

As I sat up, I considered myself, deciding that I didn't really feel that bad for a dead man living. All of me was present and accounted for, clothes included; probably a perk of being dimensionally shuffled by God himself.

So this was the reality of being 'reborn', huh? I hadn't really been thinking about how it would work or anything - I'd just latched onto the idea of getting out of that limbo.

Christ...this had actually just happened. I died, and now I'd been reborn into _fucking Fairy Tail._

...It's almost funny. I knew people who would have killed for the opportunity that had just landed in my lap, but...in some ways, now that I have it, it just doesn't quite seem worth it.

Of course it's exciting - a whole new world to explore, magic to learn, people to meet; a second chance to make something of myself...

But it had sure cost a lot.

All my friends - would any of them miss me? And my family...oh, God, my _parents._ How are they going to take getting a call from the police telling them I got myself killed?

Will they break down, or will they keep moving forward and get over it?

...Will they even remember me?

' _Dammit, of course they will! My friends and family - they'll definitely remember me, they'll definitely miss me! I'm sure of it!_

' _...I'm sure…'_

I grit my teeth as I drew my legs back to my chest, resting my forehead on my knees. There was a catch in my throat and a thickness in my chest that made it hard to breathe, and I had to close my eyes against the light that suddenly seemed _too_ bright.

'Cause I couldn't even convince myself.

 _Who_ would remember me? Fucking hell, I was only seventeen when I died; I had a whole life ahead of me and so many things to accomplish and I _fucking blew it._

And it wasn't just myself I'd screwed over - the guy in the car I hit; had _he_ survived? I mean, the crash killed me, so what's to say he survived? Even if he did, what kind of shape must he be in?

Did he have a family of his own? What was his life like? Had _he_ accomplished everything he wanted to do? Would he be able to look back on his life and say he was happy with it?

I doubted it. And because I didn't _fucking look_ , I'd almost certainly killed a man and ruined the lives of his family - all as my last act on Earth.

' _This second chance of mine...should definitely have been his.'_

That was about the point where I started crying. And not those manly, stoic tears you see in action movies; I just started bawling my eyes out and wailing in the middle of a strange forest in a new world, freeing everything that had been accumulating since the moment I crashed to the open air.

' _I guess it's okay for me to cry - people always say that you shouldn't bottle things up, that it's bad for you…_

' _But I just know that this is going to stay with me for as long as I live this time.'_

Still - that was no excuse for me to stop functioning completely. I'd remember - I would _always_ remember - but I had a second chance to make use of, and I needed to get started.

Wiping my face of the tears and other things that had coated it during my breakdown, I gathered my legs beneath me and stood up, turning in a circle to try and get my bearings.

Forest. Nothing but leafy green forest for as far as the eye could see.

 _Great._

This was just the _perfect_ place for me to start my time here. All alone in an unknown forest, unknown to anyone in this world. Just myself, my wits and the magic I had been promised.

I clicked my teeth. ' _How fucking cliché...this is just the type of romanticism that I'd expect from a_ fanfiction.'

Sighing, I stuffed my hands in my pockets, looking around again. "Dammit, where do I even start?"

Feeling frustrated, I spotted a rock in the grass near my foot and tried to kick it for some relief.

I missed - the kick whiffed completely, passing above the stone.

I glared at the rock like it had insulted me, taking another swing.

This time my strike passed within half a centimetre of its side but still missed.

" _Fucking really?!"_ I hissed, trying to reduce the stone to dust with my eyes.

It just sat there among the grass - silent, unmoving.

 _Mocking me._

" _Fuck you!"_ I declared, bringing my foot back and channelling my anger into the next kick -

There was a loud _crack_ , a flare of blue light, and my foot connected with the stone in less time than it took me to blink, sending the stone rocketing off over the forest canopy and into the great blue yonder.

I had just enough time to register that and my subsequent surprise before all the momentum in my leg dragged it to the limit of its joint and physics dragged me off my planted foot and half a foot into the air before it dropped be down on my back with a _thump._

I lay in the grass for the second time in as many minutes, blinking to myself as I processed.

' _...Well, I guess that was my magic.'_

I could feel something... _different_ , after using it for the first time. Starting at my core, right below my sternum, a sensation radiated through my body. It pulsed like a heartbeat; powerful as if I'd been exercising hard, but without the fatigue - instead, it brought a sense of invigoration, a comforting energy.

Focussing on it, I felt like a million dollars.

...Or Jewels, rather.

It was odd though - instead of giving me a feeling like I could take on the world, it was actually...kind of humbling.

' _Meh, screw it - it feels amazing one way or another!'_

Still, how was I supposed to use it? I'd already triggered it once before, but I wasn't really sure how that had happened. I could feel it, but I didn't know how to tap into it.

'Without the knowledge to use it, power is practically useless.' I was fairly sure Darkseid was the one who said that...or, did I have the saying backward?

Fuck it, never mind, on with the practice.

I stood up, brushing myself off before starting to think.

I had seen many imaginings of how magic is accessed and used, from mental imagery triggering the power itself to stress, trauma or sheer necessity bringing it to the surface and letting the user access it from that point onward.

But there was something about my case that seemed different from the other cases I knew of. Namely, I could actually feel the magic in my body, rather than only being able to it feel when I was actively using it.

' _Hmm. Some Fairy Tail fanfictions have likened magic to being a kind of organ; or at least, they've said that there's an organ-type-thing that allows people to use magic - I think the show called it a magical container… A lot of people have described it as an 'organ' that gets stronger the more it is used.'_

Yeah, that sounded like the description from the show.

Still, that being said, it would be much easier to just talk about magical theory than actually put any of it to the test.

' _Well - let the testing begin, I guess.'_

* * *

 **Seven Minutes Later**

"GOD FUCKING DAMMIT, THIS IS _BULLSHIT!_ "

Alright, so admittedly, testing only lasted until I got frustrated and started throwing a fit.

I'd started with the imagery idea - and I'd tried to make it work, I _really_ had.

But you see, the problem with that is figuring out what image strikes a chord with you and the magic you happen to possess...something which made me think that learning a specific type of magic would be much easier than just trying to figure out a magic you already possessed.

' _Lucky me.'_

Going by what I'd read, the image that would work for you would relate in some way to the magic you possess. Unfortunately, since I didn't actually _know_ what kind of magic I had, the process was about as difficult for me as it could be.

All I really knew about my magic was that it made my kick stronger and that it gave off light when I used it - and that was _really fucking generic._

So, none of the images I tried ended up working, and when I started trying other ways to make my magic work (hopefully the pain from those contortions I did trying JoJo poses would stop hurting soon…) they all yielded similar results.

I grabbed either side of my head, letting out a keening, frustrated scream from between my teeth. ' _Dammit, this is so_ frustrating! _Why can this just be one of this clichéd fanfics where I instantly know what my magic is and how to use it perfectly?!'_

I wanted to use magic, dammit…

I let out a sigh. ' _Back to the imagery, I suppose.'_

So far, every image I had tried would relate to a certain type of magic - trees and plants, lakes and oceans, tornados and hurricanes, earthquakes and volcanoes, wildfires and weapons.

But...nothing that was really focussed on the _feeling_ of my magic.

' _This actually might be a good idea.'_

Closing my eyes, I focussed on what I could only assume was my magical container, and concentrated on trying to drew more of that pulsing energy from it; on filling myself from scalp to toe with magic.

There were a few seconds where nothing happened at all - then something _clicked,_ and I could feel a strange kind of resistance.

I furrowed my brow and tried to concentrate harder on that resistance, feeling it lessen with each passing second - until I passed some kind of threshold and the glowing core I had envisioned suddenly exploded until life, filling me in moments.

My eyes snapped open, and I found that the world had taken on an electric blue tint; then, glancing downwards, I discovered it came from the flare of identically coloured light that had enveloped my body.

Just seeing it, I could feel the sensation which had been resisting me before do a complete heel-turn; rather than holding itself back, it was raring to go, almost urging me to use it.

In fact, I felt like running - standing still was getting more and more difficult.

So, I started to run forward - and in an instant, I figured out exactly what kind of magic I possessed.

Everything around me turned into blurring streaks as I pushed off, yet I could still perceive what was in front of me as the trees rushed forward, giving me time to weave in and out of them despite having reached a speed I thought a plane would be hard-pressed to match.

It was scary, just how damn fast I was travelling - _too_ scary, since it was enough to distract me as I shot past the forest's edge only seconds after I started running, and I wasn't paying enough attention to dodge a large root.

As I hung in the air for a split second, halfway through a somersault with the ground rushing towards my face, I had just enough time for one thought. ' _Oh fuck me, this is going to hurt like hell.'_

* * *

The _crash_ sound and resulting dust plume from my faceplant was probably heard upwards of a mile away - though the sound of my broken heart and shattered pride were probably adding to the decibels.

* * *

"OH COME ON! HIGH-SPEED MAGIC? ARE YOU _FUCKING KIDDING ME?!_ THE _LEAST_ POWERFUL, LEAST _INTERESTING_ , MOST _LIMITED MAGIC_ IN THE _ENTIRE FUCKING SERIES?_ OF ALL THE POWERS I COULD HAVE HAD, I GOT THE SAME MAGIC AS _ONE OF LEVY'S FANBOYS?!"_

The sky, grass, trees and crater I was ranting to didn't seem all that interested in what I had to say, or very sympathetic - but I was _pissed off beyond all imagining,_ and _goddamn it_ someone was gonna listen!

Still, after five minutes of nigh-constant raging where I almost forgot to breathe a couple of times, I finally calmed down enough to start looking at the situation a little more clearly.

Going over it, it didn't really seem like I had the exact same magic as Jet - and if I what I had planned worked out, then the situation would be flipped completely on its head.

Sliding my eyes closed once more, I reached for the pulse of my magic, bringing it to the surface once more - but this time, I tried to gather it, to shepard it where I wanted it to focus...in particular, my eyes and brain.

There was a touch of resistance, but it was nearly insignificant and certainly wasn't enough to stop the magic as it flowed from my container up into my head, all the energy which had gathered below my skin pooling in the area I had been focussing on. I opened my eyes…

And in an instant, the difference between Jet's magic and mine was obvious.

The world I saw had slowed to a crawl - almost closer to stopped than to moving. The grass in the field and the leaves in the trees, which had been swaying in a light breeze, were shifting almost too slowly for me to see.

' _It's just like I hoped - my magic's_ way _better than High-Speed Magic.'_

My test had proved that, rather than just making me move faster, my magic could 'speed up' any part of myself that I focussed. I could speed up my perception of time - essentially allowing myself to observe the world in slow motion - by empowering my brain and eyes with magic to increase my rate of thought and the speed of my eyes' functions.

Plus, apparently there was at least some kind of in-built safety measure, since I wasn't at all familiar with how brains _or_ eyes functioned, and yet I hadn't managed to make either of them liquify or explode with my testing.

' _It's a bit surprising that I got this power…'_ I thought to myself, dropping my focus and feeling my magic slow its pulsing and retreat back into my container, curling in on itself like a resting animal. ' _I mean, what were the odds I'd get a magic so similar to the Devil Fruit in that One Piece omake I wrote?'_

The omake was an AU side-story to This Bites! where Cross got a Devil Fruit as well as Soundbite - in particular, a Devil Fruit that could control the speed of various aspects of the user's body, with the potential to later develop control of the surroundings' speed as well.

Still - there was a major difference between my power and the one I wrote about. Namely, that one was magic, and the other was a Devil Fruit.

I had no idea how the powers would translate considering the differences in the mechanics of One Piece and Fairy Tail; would I slow myself down as well as speed myself up? Could I affect things other than myself, or could I learn to?

Well, those were questions for later.

' _Well, I've got at least a handle on my magic now.'_ I decided. ' _I suppose the next thing I should do is figure out just when and where the Hell I am-'_

" _GWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"_

My train of thought was violently derailed when a deafening roar echoed out from the forest I had exited minutes before - and just for the record, I definitely did _not_ jump ten feet into the air scared out of my mind.

 _Definitely._

' _Oh God, what the hell was that?! Was it some kind of monster? Jesus, I'm not ready to face a genuine monster straight out of Fairy Tail! I only just figured out my magic for fuck's sake!'_

I wasn't some kind of absolute powerhouse like Natsu 'Plot Armor' Dragneel; Hell, I wasn't even a fighter!

But before I could sink deeper into my panic, the source of the noise made its appearance, bounding out from beneath the forest's canopy and into the sunlight.

It was _massive_ \- at least double my height when it stood up straight, with a shoulder width that probably equalled my height. It was humanoid - or, more accurately, simian, since it had a tail like a python waving behind it; with arms like tree trunks long enough to press on the ground even when it was only leaning over a little, and somewhat less developed legs that ended in five-fingered feet.

The fur covering it almost entirely save for its hands, feet, face and chest muscles was all fire-engine red, while the exposed skin was white. There were two heart shapes on the outside of each of its biceps, coloured black, while a black line bisected its face from ear to ear across the bridge of its nose.

And _what_ a face.

Its chin was roughly the same length as its thin face, extending to a good two-thirds of the way down its pecs. The eyes were a pure white with no pupils, while it had no eyebrows but the ridges above its eyes looked closer to bone than flesh. Its ears were even longer than its chin, angling out to either side of its head in points like horns or a weird parody of an elf.

And protruding from the top of its head was a horn that looked a bit like a dunce's cap.

It was a _really fucking weird_ thing to see - but I was focussed less on how weird it was and more on how _goddamn ripped_ it was with pectorals and abs that looked like they wouldn't be out of place as tank armour.

Still, that kinda made sense - Forest Vulcans were noted for their _exceptional_ strength.

Looking at it, I swallowed hard, feeling sweat beading on my forehead. WIth my newly-discovered Speed magic and little to no fighting experience, there was no way I could beat a creature like that. The best option available to me was to just _run_ \- yeah, that would be the best decision. If I activated my magic and just went, I'd be sure to lose it. Just because it was red didn't mean it was fas…

Wait - _red?_

' _No...no, that's not right; Forest Vulcans are supposed to have_ green _fur - so then why the hell is this one red? Did it dye its fur or something…? No, Vulcans are dumb as hell, so what the hell-?'_

Something clicked in my brain. ' _Oh no…'_

Vulcans - a species known for their ability to possess other living creatures through the use of a natural type of Take-Over magic.

A Forest Vulcan that looked this different almost definitely must have used Take-Over on something or some _one_...and their host would be gone forever if the Vulcan was allowed to keep using their body.

I idly wondered if, when they disappeared after being defeated in a stolen body, Vulcans simply fled or if they died - but that was a question for later.

Right now, I needed my brain for figuring out the dilemma I found myself in.

Should I stay, and try to save the Vulcan's victim in case it was a person? Or did I run away and forget the encounter ever happened?

' _...Fuck, like there was ever more than one answer to that. I already ruined a bunch of lives today, I'm not going to risk another.'_

Well, if I was going to fight, the only way I was going to win would have to be cheating like hell. Throwing dirt in its eyes, kicking it in its nuts, sweepings it legs - all the good shit.

' _And I'd really better get to it before I chicken out. LET'S DO THIS THING!'_

The matter decided, I got ready to face the Vulcan - then blinked as I realised it hadn't even moved yet. ' _What the hell? I'd have thought it would have reached me by now…'_

Then I started paying attention, and felt the magic buzzing just beneath my skin. ' _Huh - my magic must have started boosting me as soon as I thought about activating it to run away…'_

' _Well, at least it let me think. I should probably cut the flow though-'_

The moment my magic stopped filling my skull, the Vulcan's second roar - which it had been caught opening its mouth to unleash when my magic sped me up - tore free and was followed quickly along its path to me by the massive animal.

Thankfully, though not for the Vulcan, I was a lot faster than it.

My magic lit me up like a christmas tree and I kicked off the ground, launching myself to the right and directly out of its path.

The Vulcan growled as it dugs its left hand into the earth, swinging around to re-orient its charge, and I mimicked the act with my right hand and a smirk, pulling a handful of soil loose from the ground.

Time to make sure this 'fight' was in my favour. Heh - this Vulcan had no idea what was coming to it.

Blue light flickered and pulsed along my arm as I reared it back, ready to throw the dirt in its face as it came close and then dodge out of the way again…

Then I recalled that the Vulcan had _really fucking long arms,_ when one of them came swinging up instead of digging into the ground, caught fire, and then rocketed forward into my torso.

To quote Mike Tyson - 'Everyone has a plan till they get punched in the mouth.'

Well, it might not have been my mouth, but from the cracking sounds my torso let out when the punch hit and the flames which burst to life on my shirt, my plan was most definitively _fucked._

The world finally stopped spinning when I came to a crashing _splat_ of a halt several feet away from the Vulcan - then the pain hit and it was like getting punched all over again.

I couldn't breathe; my lungs were refusing to cooperate just as even trying to fill them made my chest scream, and even when I didn't try it was still agonizing.

And that was even considering the fact that _I was on fire!_

"FuckfuckfuckfuckFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKGETOFFGETOFF _GETOFF_ _ **GETOFF!"**_

Panic overcame pain long enough for me to rip the burnt and pulverised remains of my shirt off and throw them away, before I grabbed dirt from the ground beside me and patted my pants down with it to try and save them.

Those flames died fairly quickly - but even with the small comfort that I wouldn't be naked in this world, things weren't great.

The glob of blood, saliva and what were probably tears that I spat out in the aftermath of my momentary panic was proof of that.

As I looked up at the Vulcan, feeling the blisters rising on my devastated chest and the roaring pulse of magic running through me, I forgot all about that, though.

I forgot my panic.

I forgot the pain.

I even forgot all the feelings that the day had piled on me.

It was all eclipsed by an unfamiliar new feeling - a desperate need to survive, to live, to _fight_ for my right to exist.

...Of course, that too was overshadowed by what I could only describe as _**UNYIELDING RAGE.**_

* * *

Human beings are a species which possess a natural, built-in response to danger, the Vulcan thought to itself as it stalked toward the downed man.

This wasn't the first time the Vulcan had seen it happen; this wasn't the first mage he had fought. The one whose body it was currently wearing, for example; he'd put up a good fight against the other Vulcans, but he'd gotten cocky after managing to fend them off without taking a scratch in return.

The look on that mage's face when the Vulcan grabbed him from behind was priceless; when it had turned the mage around, the terror and urge to flee in his eyes had been exquisite.

The same could be said of the squeaking noises he made when the Vulcan slammed him into the ground until he was unconscious and twitching.

After that, it had been a simple task to Take-Over the mage's body and gain his substantial magical power - a great victory for little effort.

This human, though...they were different.

The Vulcan had followed the commotion and the plume of dirt through the forest and come across this other human mage - much like the first he was terrified, shaking and ready to flee…

For a few seconds - before in just a moment, his whole demeanour changed and settled.

It seemed he had chosen fight over flight...though _why_ confused the Vulcan to no end. What had changed?

Eh, it didn't really matter; the human was already on his back and almost out after jut one punch. This'd be easy.

Oh? The human was actually getting up. How _cu…_

Eh…what's that look on their face?

The Vulcan felt a shiver run down its spine as cold waves of killing intent started to roll off the human, coruscating blue magical power coming after and crackling across his skin.

From defeated to murderous rage in moments - what was _wrong_ with this human?!

The Vulcan didn't know - and when its vision was suddenly eclipsed by an oncoming elbow, it had more important things to worry about.

* * *

There wasn't much rational thought in my mind as I charged the Vulcan at speeds no human being had ever achieved before. I vaguely recalled that I'd had a plan.

Well, fuck the plan.

One of the most basic ideas in physics is Newton's second law - force equals mass times acceleration. The faster something moves, the more force it exerts.

So when 150 pounds of human being gains enough speed in roughly half a second to blur in human perception, then deposits all that force in a simian humanoid's face via elbow, all the math adds up to a shattered nose.

That's a complex way of saying I broke the dumb monkey's fucking nose.

My eyes lit up blue from within, and the world around me slowed to a crawl. I hung suspended in space, seeing the crater I had made of the Vulcan's nose, the blood spurting from it, the way its eyes - which had gone wide in shock - were closing as its mouth opened for a roar.

It was tipping over backwards, not having set itself well enough to compensate for all the energy I'd just given it - at the rate at which I perceived the world, it would be minutes before the monster hit the ground.

I wouldn't give it that chance.

The really weird thing about having your perception accelerated beyond your body's reaction speed is how it feels to move. The best description I could give was that to my eyes and mind, it was like running through a swimming pool - but to my body, it was perfectly normal; none of the resistance that that kind of action would generate.

I paid vague attention to it, decided it was vaguely interesting, then ignored it in favour of hurting the Vulcan some more.

My hand reached out for the creature's shoulder and grabbed ahold of the fur there, dragging me forward through the air before either of us had fallen more than halfway. Momentum had me continue beyond the anchor point, leaving me to start rotating around where I kept my grip until I let go, leaving myself hanging in the air between the descending Vulcan and the ground.

Then I brought my legs up and mule-kicked that damn dirty ape right in its spine with all the magical power I could spare.

My legs flashed blue and moved forward at what was, to my eyes, a normal speed - which meant that in reality it was closer to something you'd see in nascar.

The reaction sent us hurtling in different directions and disrupted by concentration on my perceptions; there was a loud _crack_ at the impact which I found rather gratifying, then a _thud_ which was less so, since it was made by my crashing into the ground again.

Still, once I clambered back to my feet, I felt a vicious grin grace my lips as I saw the ape lying on its back, clutching its nose in pain a few feet away from me.

"You break nose...and crack back."

...Somehow, that neanderthal-esque sentence managed to sound menacing, even with a broken nose. But I was so _fucking pissed off_ that I'd just cracked his back instead of breaking his spine that it didn't really register.

With a forward roll, the Vulcan regained its feet - and it seemed to loom over me even from as far away as it was.

" **I break you."**

Deciding that I'd rather not have a Vulcan re-enact any iconic Batman moments with _my_ spine, I kicked off again, this time deciding to aim somewhere else on the damn monkey-

And, unfortunately, overlooked the Vulcan's apparent ability to use fire magic.

The moment my punch landed home in its solar plexus, I figured out it had been a trap - mostly because I was greeted with a bright-red magic circle appearing on its chest and subsequently engulfing the primate in flames.

Along with my fist.

I was too busy yanking my hand back to notice the leg which came around from my left side, and I was taken completely by surprise when the Vulcan swept my legs from under me and launched a flaming uppercut into my stomach.

And I'd thought I was hurt _before_ \- well, after that strike, I knew better.

Because that second punch was _nothing_ like the first.

What felt like magma came to life in my stomach, a burning, melting agony that subsumed most of my organs and then spread, following the contours of the _second-degree burns seared into my chest and stomach._

I didn't even notice when I came crashing down for a landing; I was beyond feeling anything right now, my nerves were either dead, dying or overloaded and I _couldn't_ pay them any attention if I was going to stay functioning.

No - the only thing I could focus on if I wanted to win...was just how _fucking_ _ **angry**_ I was _ **.**_

It was harder to stand up this time; the broken ribs and burn wounds had definitely taken their toll, and even ignoring the pain my body was having difficulty functioning around them.

This fight needed to end. _Now._

And as the Vulcan blew a great fireball towards me, inspiration provided me a way to do just that.

My magic came at my call, giving me the speed to shoot back from the epicenter of the blast and subsequently hide in the massive cloud of dust and debris that it raised.

I scanned the ground rapidly as the Vulcan laughed over his apparent victory, and I quickly found exactly what I needed.

I blinked. ' _What were the fucking odds…?'_

* * *

The Vulcan laughed to itself, hands on its hips and head thrown back. That human hadn't been so tough after all! It had only taken one fireball to take him down!

Still, the Vulcan wished his nose hadn't been broken - it kinda hurt…

The creature shrugged to itself - it would give authenticity to its story when it returned to the forest...maybe he could impress that female he'd had his eye on for a while now-

A _crack_ ; a low whistling sound; a stinging pain on the back of the Vulcan's skull...

Then, nothing.

* * *

I have no idea what the odds were of finding that same stone I'd kicked earlier just when I needed one...but I wasn't going to say anything now that it had happened.

It had done its job perfectly; flying true for the second time that day and burying itself in the back of the Vulcan's skull with a magically empowered throw.

That was just about the single most satisfying thing to have happened all day - second only to discovering my magic.

With the fighting done, I was almost high on surviving the encounter.

 _Almost._

The heart-stopping agony I was experiencing kinda put a damper on things.

When the pain rolled over me I almost collapsed, with only the knowledge that I might not get back up again keeping me on my feet. The consistent, fiery pain of the burns, mixed with the aching throbs of the broken bones, creating a sensation rather akin to being constantly battered with a red-hot sledgehammer.

Forget standing - _breathing_ was a fucking chore.

Still, the Vulcan was down for the count and wasn't getting up again - the way its body had dissolved to reveal the poor guy it had taken over (and that was a relief, to know I hadn't just gotten my ass handed to me to save some kind of fire-natured animal that had gotten itself possessed) proved that.

' _Thank God...at least I can get some rest no-'_

" **AWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"**

' _...So that's what a chorus of Vulcans sounds like.'_

Turning back to the forest, I was in time to watch what could only be a _pack_ of Forest Vulcans emerging from the trees. They were all the proper colour, with green fur and violet skin...but there were at least a dozen of them, all of them looking at me curiously.

' _Fuck today. Just..._ everything _about today._ Fuck it.'

Still, as they looked at me their curiosity seemed to become apprehension. That should be good; if they were scared of me, they shouldn't try to kill me. Maybe I'd beaten their leader and gained some kind of immunity?

"Y-you kill leader…" One of them said, and I considered my theory confirmed.

Okay - maybe I could get out of this alive. All I needed was for them _not_ to -

" **GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!"**

... _Charge._

The group of Vulcans had let out a deafening collective roar, then dropped to all-fours and begun hauling ass to where I was standing. Their expressions were easily read; animal rage, which became even more apparent the closer they got to me.

So, faced with overwhelming odds and with few resources of my own, I did what any self-respecting self-insert would do.

I let out a roar of my own…

And _ran the fuck away._

...Okay, so the roar was a bit more of a scream of fear - but I like to think it was also the Vulcans' fear.

At least a little bit.

Maybe.

One way or another, I filled myself up with magic and proceeded to sprint away from the oncoming pack as fast as my legs could carry me, grabbing the first Vulcan's victim and using my momentum to swing him onto my shoulder as I went.

That brought a whole new resurgence of the pain I was experiencing, but I managed not to fall down. I'd already decided I was going to make the most of this new life, and that I wouldn't make any more people suffer for my mistakes; so, I _was_ going to get this man to a hospital, and then I _was_ going to make sure I didn't bleed to death.

Of course, I didn't have any idea where the fuck I was or where the nearest town was...but the guy on my shoulder should.

I hoped, anyway; if he turned out to be as lost as me I was going to be supremely pissed off.

A hospital stay and a saved life ahead of me and a pack of vicious, murderous Vulcans behind me. Since being in a hospital and being murdered basically balanced themselves out, making sure the guy on my shoulder stayed alive was my motivation to keep upright and keep running.

I glanced sideways at the head of hair which was most of what I could see of the guy in question, wondering why they seemed familiar.

The hair itself was half black and half white; the clothes were red, and there was a black band across his nose just like the one that the Vulcan had sported when it was possessing him.

' _Dammit, I_ know _this guy, I'm sure of it - but I can't remember_ where from.'

Well, I'd just ask him who he was after he woke up...and after I got directions to the hospital.

And since he seemed to be waking up, that would be sooner than I'd worried it might be.

* * *

Totomaru hated Vulcans.

That was why he'd thought that a mission to exterminate a group of them in a nearby forest would be a good time; a perfect opportunity to kick back, cut loose and _enjoy_ himself for once in a while.

And, at the beginning, he did. Wandering through the forest was relaxing, and burning the Vulcans to a crisp was great stress relief and quite a bit of fun. He got a chance to flex his magical power with no limits, and it felt _great._

Well...until one of the Vulcans snuck up behind him, gave him just long enough to realise what had happened and then knocked him out before taking over his body.

Now _there_ was an experience he never wanted to go through _ever again._ It was a violation of the highest order; a perversion the likes of which no one should ever experience and a horrendous event that Totomaru thought he'd never be able to forget.

Held prisoner in his own body; trapped where he couldn't take action, but was still able to perceive the outside world through the Vulcan's eyes as it did whatever it wanted with Totomaru's own magic…

It was disgraceful. An S-Class Phantom Lord Wizard falling victim to a dumb ape? If he survived and anyone ever heard about this...his reputation would never recover.

Then again, those odds weren't great. None of his fellow guild members would come looking for him; they'd expect him to be able to take care of himself.

Well, apparently he'd proven them all wrong.

Good for him.

Totomaru had just about lost all hope, coming close to just...not thinking any more...when the Vulcan encountered another wizard.

That had been enough to catch Totomaru's attention - after all, this could be his chance at freedom or it could be the end of this wizard's life.

Either way, he couldn't _not_ pay attention.

At first the man looked like he was going to run away from the Vulcan - he was obviously scared, and he was leaning back and away...then, that changed.

For seemingly no reason at all, the fear was buried behind a grim determination moments before the Vulcan charged and battle was joined.

Totomaru came as close to wincing as anyone in his position could when the wizard suffered his first blow. The Vulcan had been essentially supercharged by Totomaru's own Rainbow Fire magic, placing the odds heavily in its favour; with the strength and magical power of an S-Class Wizard, it was no wonder that the Vulcan had managed to hit the speedy mage.

Then, in the aftermath of a blow that would have killed quite a lot of people, the wizard's demeanour changed once more.

The glare he levelled at the Vulcan, as well as the jerky, almost too-energetic way he dragged himself to his feet, were sinister enough; the angrily snapping magical power that responded to that obvious rage only added to it.

The mage's following two blows seemed set to turn the fight in his favour...but even though the first bore fruit, the second proved to just not be enough, and the wizard suffered a truly titanic strike for his error.

When the Vulcan drew deeply on Totomaru's magic and exhaled a massive attack toward the downed mage, Totomaru just about gave up, assuming that his would-be saviour had met his end…

Then, out of nowhere, he was free; the Vulcan was torn away into the ether, leaving only Totomaru remaining, utterly disoriented by his sudden freedom and unable to do much more than pass out.

Still, it registered with him that, somehow, the mage had killed the Vulcan. He had lulled it into assuming he was dead, then exploited the opening to gain victory.

It was an utterly dishonourable way to achieve victory - yet, it was obviously effective.

Totomaru idly hoped that the mage would be around to speak to when he woke up; depending on what he was like, he might very well be worth making an offer to.

* * *

The first sentence out of the familiar stranger's mouth was "Oh _Gods_ my head."

I had managed to get us a fair distance away from the Vulcans - not a particularly difficult task with my speed, though my injuries did slow me down quite a bit.

Oh, and speaking of which-

 _ **OH GOD THE PAIN-!**_

I had no sooner managed to settle the newly freed mage down in the grass beneath the large tree I'd found for some shade when I keeled over myself, groaning as my everything protested the treatment.

A few seconds later, I had found some slight relief now that my weight was off my legs and abdomen...but still, I hurt more than enough that I knew I'd need to get myself looked at.

Grunting, I made to turn over and check on the other guy-

Then stifled a scream and gave up almost immediately. ' _Note to self - don't roll with broken ribs.'_

"I don't mean to interrupt your…'nap'...but might I have the name of my 'saviour'?"

Hearing the guy speak up, I managed to catch sight of him in the corner of my eye, and twisted my head a bit so I could direct my words his way. "So I get sarcasm for saving your life?"

The man snickered. "I'm told sarcasm suits me...but I _would_ like to know your name."

I managed to crook my mouth into a grin, though I wasn't sure if he could see it. "David; David Robinson. Don't go wearing it out."

The red-clad mage sighed. " _Charmed,_ I'm sure."

"Y'know, it'd be nice to get _your_ name as well."

The man finally managed to shuffle himself so that his face was visible from where I was lying and vice-versa, revealing a proud, almost cocky expression. "Heh - don't you know who I am?"

' _Cue deadpan.'_ "No, I have no idea who you are."

The mage deflated, his expression becoming depressed. " _Really?"_ He whined, before groaning, his chin falling to his chest. "Fine…" He gathered himself, tilting his head back so he was looking down his nose at me. "My name is Totomaru; the Great Flame of the Phantom Lord Guild!"

Oooh... _that's_ who he was.

"Oh shit!" I declared. "Dude, I've heard of you! One of the Element Four, right? You're an S-Class Wizard!"

It was a bit odd of me that I hadn't recognised Totomaru immediately; I'd always quite liked Fairy Tail's side characters, since most of them had so much personality and quite a few had realistic, human traits…

Unlike all those characters who probably _slept_ in their plot armour, their ability to fail made them seem more real.

More _human._

"Hah!" Totomaru declared, crossing his arms where he was lying and tilting his head back far enough that any more would probably start lifting him off the floor. "So you _have_ heard of me!"

' _And now he's back to being cocky and arrogant...just what was I expecting?'_

"Yes yes yes, we've all heard of Phantom Lord." I interrupted him. "Now would you mind _helping me out?_ I'm kinda dying over here."

Totomaru chuckled. "Sorry." He looked me over quickly. "Yeah, you took quite a beating from that Vulcan...alright; I'll help you get up…"

He dropped the cocky attitude quite quickly, then made to stand up and come help me-

Only to collapse the second he tried to move closer.

"Hey, David…"

"Yes Totomaru?"

"I can't move."

"Me neither."

"It seems we are at an impasse."

"Indeed."

Well, that seems about right - if my memory served me, Macao couldn't move after _he_ was freed from that Vulcan's control.

 _Great._

"So, how are we going to get ourselves out of this situation?" Totomaru asked.

"I...have no idea."

Totomaru hummed, taking on a thoughtful expression and lifting his hand to his chin in a thinking pose - clearly for dramatic effect.

Then a few seconds later, he smacked his fist into his palm with a look like he'd just had an epiphany.

' _Heh, leave it to one of the Element Four to think of a way out of this situation. Man, I was worried that we weren't going to get out of this! Now, what's his plan? Is he gonna communicate with his guild? Use his magic? Summon an epic mount?!'_

"You can carry me back to the guild!"

...I could _hear_ my eye twitching. Like, it had an _actual sound._

" **Could you repeat that…? It almost sounded like you said** _ **I could carry you...**_ **but you wouldn't be that much of an idiot.** _ **WOULD YOU?!"**_

I…might have put just a _little_ too much murderous intent into that question, judging by the way Totomaru had scuttled backwards using his hands and feet, his face pale.

"W-well, you _did_ carry me here." He pointed out. "So I was just thinking…"

"I refuse!" I replied. "I can barely move; I don't even know if I can stand up!"

Totomaru sighed, scratching his head. "Then I guess Plan B is to wait here until one of us can move or someone comes along."

"That's not gonna work either." I refuted. "Both of us _need_ medical help."

"You're right about that…" He acknowledged, then probably caught sight of the depressed look on my face. "C'mon, don't worry! Sooner or later one of us is _bound_ to come up with a pl-"

" **AWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"**

Both of us paled rapidly, glancing at one another.

"They must have followed our scent." I guessed, clenching a fist to try and keep my hand still.

And I _had_ to try, because just the thought of having to face all those Vulcans when just one had come so close to killing me was enough to set me shaking and loose a shiver down my spine.

Totomaru seemed to be in much the same state, shaking and sweating.

But our fear of getting possessed by sentient ape-men was a _lot_ stronger than the pain we were experiencing - and that, in turn allowed us to push ourselves to our feet.

I'm not gonna lie - moving was _hell._ The protests my body raised, the agony that the slightest shift brought and which grew exponentially the larger the motion was...they were damn near crippling.

But when I considered the alternative, I decided that the pain was the only acceptable option.

Totomaru and I were both having trouble breathing, and we were both tottering badly...but despite that, we each stood under our own power. A mage would face impossible odds on a daily basis - with this new life of mine, I could be no different.

It was the only way to survive in this world...so I'd damn well get used to it.

"David," Totomaru gasped, "as of this moment, we've got two options."

"Well you're the brains of this operation," I pointed out, "so let's hear 'em."

"Option A," he began, "we stand and fight, almost definitely getting killed or possessed as a result."

' _Not my first choice.'_ "What's option B then?"

"You pick me up and _get us the hell out of here."_

"I don't even know if I can carry us that far!" I protested. "My body'll probably give out before we even get-"

" **AWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"**

"PLAN A OR PLAN B DAVID!" Totomaru yelled at me.

"PLAN B!" I decided. " _PLAN B!"_

The thundering sound of the Vulcans' feet pounding toward us let me summon the adrenaline spike I needed to gather up my magic once again. In a flare of blue light, a glowing magic circle appeared at my feet as my magical pulse sped up once more.

Snatching up Totomaru while my nerve endings were still dulled, I proceeded to gun it as fast as I could manage away from the Vulcans. Every step I took was like stepping on a spike, every movement felt like thorn bushes were growing inside me, but I forced myself to keep going and tried to ignore it as best I could.

Which, once the adrenaline wore off, was _not at all._

"Keep going!" He called over the rushing wind, once more slung over my shoulder with his head forward. "You're headed right toward Oak Town!"

' _Yeah yeah,_ shut up _Totomaru, I'm getting there!'_

"God!" He exclaimed, glancing around. "Just how fast can you _go?!"_

"Shut! Up!" I managed to growl between breaths and steps. "In. _Immense. PAIN!"_

Speeding along with my body flagging and held together mostly by stubborn willpower, I finally hoved into view of the - in my opinion - rather mistakenly named Oak Town.

The place looked like a castle and a city had been rolled into one; it was a massive, sprawling complex made up by layers upon layers of houses, shops and restaurants - and at the highest point of the city rested our destination.

The Phantom Lord Guild Hall...which could really only be described as an honest-to-God medieval _castle._

Or a testament to Jose Porla's ego. Either description worked, really.

Approaching the building's entrance and leaving a trail of partially demolished paving stones behind us, I found the pulse of my magic - which had been growing slower and weaker ever since my fight with the first Vulcan - beginning to fade.

Running out of magical power when you're using magic to run at the speeds I was is, to put it simply, considerably worse than running out of fuel in a car. After all, I was only exempt from the laws of physics for as long as my magic was keeping me safe - it compensated for things like friction, momentum and inertia.

So, when I ran _out_ of magical power…

Physics got _even._

My magical power finally hit empty and left the barely-there blue light I had been emitting to die away in an instant, and I went to stop…

Unfortunately, the friction and braking force I could summon by digging in my heels was nowhere near enough to deal with all my momentum, and so I was sent hurtling ass over teakettle into the doors of Phantom Lord, promptly knocking said doors off their hinges as we oh-so-gracefully made our entrance.

I had just enough time to register the widespread looks of surprise on the mages' faces before our path continued through a table, some chairs and _maybe_ a couple of people.

The last thing I saw, as I finally succumbed to the sheer amount of _shit_ my day had put me through, was the curious face of _Jose Porla_ staring at us.

* * *

I'd never enjoyed waking up. And as it turned out, waking up the day after getting my ass handed to me by a Vulcan was even worse.

Still, the feeling of a nice, _warm_ bed after the day I'd had was really rather refreshing.

Opening my eyes and looking around, I found myself to be in a simple room outfitted with hospital decor. Apart from the lack of machinery, I'd almost swear it was one from back on Earth…

I sighed; just thinking about my old world ruined my mood.

So, this was it. I was in Fairy Tail...and in the space of less than an hour, I almost fucking died _multiple times._ It took me _seventeen years_ to get close to death even once back home; just what the hell was with this world?

One way or another, any kind of disconnect I might have been feeling had been kicked to the curb.

This was _real_ \- and I had the injuries to damn well prove it.

"Ah - it seems you're awake."

The monotone voice broke me out of my musings, and looking toward where it had come from I found a character who I recognised _instantly._

Juvia Lockser in person was nigh identical to how she had appeared in the anime - which is to say she was the most _gorgeous_ woman I'd ever laid eyes on.

Her eyes were a deep ocean blue and her hair a lighter shade of that same colour, spun into curls on the ends that reminded me of a wave seen side-on.

Her attire consisted of a long-sleeved, dark-blue dress with a darker mantle around her neck that was trimmed with cream fur and clasped by a teru teru bōzu, as well as her trademarked blue cossack hat.

Oh - and so as to adhere to Fairy Tail's laws of 'Everyone's Drop Dead Gorgeous' and 'Fanservice For All', she had a curvaceous figure that _Goddesses_ would be jealous of.

To my personal shame I couldn't quite stop my eyes from lingering - but being faced with a woman whose proportions were _so unrealistic_ that one look at her could probably a cause a damn heart attack…?

Well, stronger men than me have tried and failed.

"Do your injuries hurt any more? If not, Juvia will go and get the Master. He wishes to speak with you."

 _That_ certainly let me rip my gaze away and look her in the eyes.

I opened my mouth, intending to say something along the lines of 'Yes, I am feeling better.', or 'Thank you.' Maybe even 'Are you an angel?'

What I actually said was more along the lines of "Uhhh duh huh…"

The rain woman tilted her head slightly. "Are you feeling well? Juvia can send for the doctor…"

Gathering up what was left of my self control, I managed to stutter out a "N-no, I'm okay."

Giving me a single nod, she turned to the door. "Juvia sees - she shall inform the Master that you are awake."

I'd kind of forgotten, but before she met Gray she was really repressed emotionally...actually, thinking about that time, I recalled that Juvia's entire life up the war between Phantom Lord and Fairy Tail was a constant stream of depression and rejection from _everyone._ The only person who ever extended a hand to her was _Jose Porla_ of all people.

She'd been alone for quite probably her entire life.

And once again, I was faced with a dilemma.

What effect would any actions I took have on the characters - nay, the entire Fairy Tail plot? Already my presence had changed things, so what would it be like if I stuck around for long enough?

Just what should I do?

Should I try to stay in the background and change as little as possible so things don't go to shit because of my interference? Or should I try to change events, hopefully for the better?

...Well, the answer was obvious.

While I'm here, I can make a difference - a _real_ , _tangible_ difference to this _entire world._ Here, I can help people and have a significant impact on history, an impact for the good of all people.

This second chance that I don't deserve...for that man I killed, I'll use it to make other people's lives better.

I'm going to atone for the lives I ruined. I will _never_ let something like that happen to another person if I can possibly stop it.

 _I_ _ **swear**_ _it._

A gentle rapping on the door stopped me from making any more promises, followed by a voice drifting through the closed portal. "Might I come in?"

...Well, there was only one person that could be. Now, what should I say? This was my first time interacting with this man, the first thing I said could shape the entirety of my future - and whether or not that future lasted more than the next few minutes.

"Sure!"

' _...Smooth, David. Smooth.'_

And with that invitation the door swung open, greeting me with the sight of the most envious and downright _despicable_ member of the Ten Wizard Saints.

 _Jose 'Motherfucking' Porla._

His very presence in the room seemed to expose me to an _ocean_ of magical power, a profound sense of **presence** that was made to heel only through years of experience. Jose's _mere existence_ in the same room as me left me feeling like an ant.

' _That's one_ hell _of a way to make an entrance…'_ I managed to think to myself around the experience that was being faced with Jose, but that was about the limit of what I could manage.

"Juvia informed me that you'd awoken." He noted. "Are you feeling better?"

...Jose didn't really _act_ the part of the man who started a full-on war between two Guilds. His demeanour was... _gentlemanly._ His tone was authoritative but still concerned; there was no real menace to him and no sign of the madness or cruelty that lay within him.

Altogether, he was vastly different from his portrayal in the anime…

Even if his presence absolutely _demanded_ respect - a fact that both he and I were fully aware of.

"Yeah, I'm feeling much better than before." I answered. "I can move without burning pain anyway, so that's a step up."

He smiled. "That's good to hear; from what Totomaru has told me you took _quite_ the beating on your excursion."

I blew out a long breath. "I did, didn't I? Honestly, I'm kinda surprised we even made it out of there alive…"

Jose chuckled.

Jose _fucking_ Porla... _chuckled._

' _Holy shit, is this even the same guy from the show?!'_

"You shouldn't be so humble!" He declared. "It's quite an accomplishment to win a battle against a Vulcan possessing an S-Class mage."

The grin he had been boasting began to grow. "Such strength is rarely seen in a user of a rather…' _underwhelming'_ magic."

My eye twitched. At the same time, the pulse in my core started to speed up, and my fist clenched.

"Imagine my shock," Jose continued, "when I learned that a High-Speed Mage defeated-"

I snapped.

"IT'S NOT FUCKING HIGH-SPEED MAGIC! THAT _EXCUSE_ FOR A POWER IS NOTHING BUT A THIRD-RATE DISCOUNT KNOCK-OFF OF MY MAGIC! DON'T YOU _FUCKING_ _ **DARE**_ LUMP ME IN WITH THAT WEAK FANBOY OF A MAGE - I _WILL NOT_ BE COMPARED TO _FUCKING_ _ **JET!**_ "

' _...This is going to become a thing, isn't it?'_

As I refilled my lungs after my rant, realising I had spoken it faster than I should have been capable of and that there were blue sparks in the air I subsequently blew out, I calmed down from the comparison...and realised what I'd just done.

I just _yelled_ at _Jose Porla._

The change was damn near instant. From a curious, concerned, prim and proper gentleman…

 _ **To full-on divine rage.**_

' _FUCKFUCKFUCKSCAREDCAN'TBREATHEOHGODI'MGONNADIE!'_

His presence, that indefinable weight that he had carried with him _crashed_ down on me and crushed me into the bed. My breathe caught in my throat and began to strangle me as raw, unrestrained _power_ overtook me and struck terror into parts of me I didn't even know existed.

" **YOU DARE?"** He boomed, his features concealed by a bubbling miasma of black and purple magic that had appeared around him.

I was going to die.

Not even a full day into this world and those promises I made would be worthless because _I couldn't keep my mouth shut._ This was the end; he was growing closer with each second, and there was _absolutely nothing_ I could do to stop him.

And then, when he was only inches away from me, he began to laugh.

Pure laughter, straight from his belly and into the air, filled the room and banished the deathly feeling as the miasma dissipated into nothing. My breath came free, and I immediately blew it out to pull in a new one, filling my lungs with a gasp.

' _What. The actual. FUCK?'_

Jose's laughter finally died down, his grin having grown even larger than before. "Oh, I like you...few mages would dare to even _think_ about yelling at one of the Ten Wizard Saints, let alone follow through on it. But you? You didn't even _hesitate._ "

' _Uh…'_

"The second you thought that I was comparing you to that Fairy Tail mage, you got up and yelled - nay, _screamed_ at me to defend your magic...and, from your words, your dignity as well."

' _What?'_

"You harbour such a _venomous_ hatred for being compared to a mage of lesser standing than yourself that you would be willing to antagonize someone who is further beyond you than you are beyond the one you hate." Jose said, waxing lyrical with a disturbingly wide grin that _kept growing._ "You absolutely _refuse_ to be considered weak - an admirable quality."

' _Just what the hell is he going on about?'_

"Such a trait is something I look for in mages." Jose explained. "That refusal to accept weakness, no matter _what_ form it may take."

' _...I should say something. I need to say something before this gets any crazier.'_

"From Totomaru's report, your fight with the Vulcan ended rather quickly." Jose noted. "Not because you overpowered it, but because you were willing to ignore your pride and do what was needed to win."

A disturbing light - one that I couldn't recognise, but which still unsettled me, began to shine in Jose's eyes. "And from what I can sense you've only recently acquired your magic. Am I correct?"

I nodded - I still couldn't seem to unglue my tongue enough to speak.

Jose let out a bark of laughter, almost making me jump. "Such potential! To think that you could overcome such an adversary so soon after discovering your magic...that's almost unheard of, you know?"

I didn't actually know - but _holy shit._ Jose Porla was _complimenting someone._

 _He was complimenting ME!_

"Uh…" I managed to finally unstick my tongue, swallowing to try and clear my throat. "Thank you, sir...but...where are you going with this?"

I had to know. Jose _wouldn't do_ something like this without an ulterior motive; he doesn't do _anything_ if it can't benefit him. Well, him or his Gui...

...Oh no…

"Well, David Robinson, I am going to say that someone like you would _thrive_ as a member of Phantom Lord."

...So, that's what he wanted. Jose was trying to recruit _me_ for his Guild.

Fuck, it was kind of obvious when I thought about it; after all, so far I'd only showed him that I _did_ have the traits of a Phantom Lord mage.

There was a rustle of fabric, and I found the he had extended a hand to me.

"David, you risked your own life to save one of my most notable wizards, and for that I am incredibly grateful." He declared. "I wish to repay that debt I owe you. Join Phantom Lord, and you will become amage of more power and renown than you could ever imagine."

...I understood now, why people joined Phantom Lord.

Jose offered them something that they couldn't refuse; whether it be a helping hand or a promise of power, I found myself wondering if anyone had _ever_ turned down a recruitment offer he made to them personally.

Because I was having trouble doing just that.

I was indebted to Jose for taking me in and nursing me back to health; I had shown I was a strong mage who possessed a willingness to win that went beyond pride and decency.

He saw potential in me, if his words were anything to go by; a _lot_ of potential. And in his eyes, I already shared in his dislike of Fairy Tail.

I mean, I only really had a problem with being compared to Jet, but he'd really just hit a nerve there.

...And being honest with myself, the praise he was giving me felt _pretty damn good._

I couldn't find a reason to say no to his offer; a home, a job and a place to grow and develop into a powerful mage...I couldn't turn that down with him approaching me like this.

So...I didn't.

I reached out and took the hand I had been offered, clasping it as firmly as I could and finding myself pulled into an upright sitting position on the bed.

The grin splitting his face as I shook his hand sent a shiver down my spine...but still.

This is what I asked for.

"Jose... _count me in._ "

 **Linebreak**

"Yo, David! It's great to see you!"

Despite how loud it was in the guild hall, I was still able to recognise Totomaru's voice from across the main hall, and I oriented myself to follow it towards the red-clad arm that was waving above the other mages' heads.

I had made my way to the hall from the hospital after changing into some simple clothes Jose provided for me. They were just about the same as the ones I had been wearing originally - a white t-shirt and black sweatpants - with the exception being the purple Phantom Lord guild mark emblazoned on the chest.

It felt...oddly heavy, for ink and fabric.

But not half as heavy as the brand-new, scaled-down twin that rested on the upper part of my right bicep.

I grinned as I made my way over, calling once I was in speaking range. "Good to see you too! How long have I been out?"

"Only about a day!" He replied, gesturing to an empty seat beside him. "They didn't really want to keep you in there long. C'mon, take a seat."

I did as he'd bidden me, glancing around the table at the other people seated there -

And found myself faced with nearly half of Phantom Lord's S-Class mages.

Just as he was depicted in the anime, Aria the Great Sky was an absolute _mountain_ of a man, his skin a shade of tan you only saw on TV and his face sculpted nearly to perfection...while his outfit was one of the strangest I'd ever seen.

It consisted of a lengthy green coat which sported a wide, high collar; a red necklace of beads and crosses with a blindfolded red skull as its centerpiece;a simple green top hat; a stole like a reverend might wear; a massive pair of dark blue pants and a plain white blindfold.

Just like in the show - but the effect it had in person was altogether more strange. It was nearly priestly...however, his looming presence was anything but.

"Oh, how sorrowful!" He bellowed in apparent greeting. "To be greeted by the mage who saved the life of my comrade! Such an occasion fills me with a phenomenal sadness!"

Water started pouring from the corners of his eyes, its volume increasing until there were twin waterfalls falling from the mage's eyes. "I am _deeply_ touched with gratitude!"

I'm pretty sure that the sound my jaw made when it dropped was an indicator of just how disturbing I found the sight in front of me. Really though, I should get use to the…

Eh, how should I put it...Oh!

 _CLINICALLY INSANE_ personalities that characterised everyone in Fairy Tail.

As in, _the world_ \- not just the guild.

"I must repay you in full!"

' _Oh, that doesn't sound good.'_

"Oh no no no," I declared, shaking my hands back and forth in front of me, "it wasn't that big a deal at all! You don't owe me anythiii _iiiIIIING!"_

Before I could even finish trying to refuse, I found myself swept up in an embrace that I could only describe as _monstrous_.

That was the day I learned that Aria was a hugger - a hugger with more than enough body-mass to suffocate me as he held me a in a grip that was closer to an industrial press than any human being I'd ever encountered.

Something with which I was _not okay!_

"What humility!" Aria cried. "To think that I would be graced with the presence of such a humble wizard!"

I could feel his tears on my scalp.

Yes, it was as horrifying as it sounds.

"Such a momentous event _fills_ me with _sorrow!"_

"MMMMMMMMMMMMM!"

I could try and give you a direct translation - but really, I think my heartfelt attempt to escape his crushing me to death was enough to get the sentiment of that noise across.

"Oi oi, let him go Aria." A new voice intruded. "You don't want to kill the newbie on his first day."

And like that, I found myself being released from the Airspace wizard's clutches and managed to grab a lungful of air.

Replenishing my near-empty oxygen supply, I turned to thank my saviour. "God, I thought I was gonna die in there! Hey man, thanks - I appreciat…"

My words died in my throat - mostly because I'd just caught sight of _who_ exactly had spoken.

Sitting at the other side of the table was none other than Gajeel Redfox, the Iron Dragon Slayer.

Dressed in a ragged, black, sleeveless tunic with studded edges and an equally studded belt around his waist and loose beige pants tucked into his black combat boots, he cut a somewhat scraggly figure - especially with his blood-red eyes and long mane of black hair.

But the way his face was twisted into a set-in-stone scowl made him seem more menacing than anything.

He clicked his teeth, turning away from me. "A real mage would've gotten himself out of that…" He glanced at the fire mage beside me. "Oi, Totomaru, are you sure this is the same guy? He looks about ready to collapse."

Rather than speak up, I decided to keep quiet - I'd already yelled at Jose Porla today; I wasn't going to push my battered, beaten luck any further.

Luckily for my ego though, Totomaru spoke up in my defense.

"Yes Gajeel, I'm certain this is the same mage who saved me. Despite his lackluster appearance now, he's rather capable when he needs to be."

"GIHIHIHIHI!" Gajeel laughed, though considering the odd syllables maybe that was the wrong word to use. "Are you serious? _This_ is the guy who saved your ass?"

The Dragon Slayer made a point of looking back at me, giving me a once-over, then snorted again and turned back to Totomaru. "He won't last a goddamn _week_ here! I don't know who's more pathetic; him, or you!"

Gajeel's laughter began to draw the attention of other members of Phantom - all of whom then re-focussed on _me_.

' _Thanks for that buddy - you're a real charmer, aren't you Gajeel?'_

Of course, I didn't say that out loud - I knew what'd happen if I did, and I wasn't even a day out of the hospital yet,

"Hey, don't go calling me pathetic!" Totomaru yelled, attempting to defend his wounded pride - but I was distracted from that attempt when a large shadow draped itself over me.

Turning around to find the source, I was _significantly_ less than pleased to find myself with face with the massive form of some unnamed Phantom Lord mage.

You know the characters that never get a name, whose whole purpose for existing in the show is to be a punching bag for the main characters?

This was that guy. To a _T._

"Hey, newbie...just what the _hell_ d'you think you're doing?"

' _..._ Wonderful.'

It figured - Gajeel's laughter had attracted some ass-kisser looking to throw his weight around and look good in front of the big boys.

Well, this one would be on me.

"Well, from what I can figure out," I began, "and let me run some numbers real quick…" I made a show of raising my hands and raising some fingers, then lowering them. "Ah yes, it appears that what I'm _currently_ doing is sitting here."

I extended my hand to him, fixing an utterly fake smile on my face. "Hi, my name's David - it's nice to meet you! You must be the famous ' _Captain Obvious'_ I've heard so much about. It's _surreal_ meeting you in person."

I probably set myself a new record with the sheer amount of sarcasm I managed to fit in that sentence.

"You bastard…!" The man growled. "Stop acting like you're hot shit!"

And with that declaration, he proceeded to grab me by my outstretched arm, flip me over his shoulder, and swing me down to _snap_ the nearest table in half.

Let me tell you, before I had magic that kind of move would have had me bedridden for a few days at _least._ Hell, it'd probably end up being months for all the broken bones assuming I didn't get seriously lucky.

But with the magic that lay beneath my skin, and less than a day after killing an S-Class Vulcan before carting Totomaru back to Oak Town with a pack of them on my tail?

It _**tickled.**_

"No wonder Gajeel was laughing!" The man cackled. "A weakling like you doesn't belong in Phantom Lord!"

Voice _dripping_ with cocky bravado, the man stomped forward. "I'll pound you into the ground, you cocky little shit!"

Picking myself up from among the ruins of the table and brushing splinters from my new clothes, I shifted my head a bit so that my eyes were hidden in the shadows cast by my forehead and hair.

It wasn't that difficult in the dimly-lit guild hall, but it still had the same dramatic effect.

"Yare yare daze…" I sighed, flicking a wooden shard off my shoulder. "It's not even been a day yet and already the _cannon fodder_ mages are trying their luck."

My magic uncurled and spread through me, tinting the world azure and causing my eyes to glow in the shadow I had cast over them. "I'm feeling pretty good right now…" I continued, "so since I'm in a generous mood, I'll give you this one chance to walk away. 'Cause otherwise…"

I fixed my gaze on the man's eyes, recalling the mindless rage that had consumed me when I was facing the Vulcan, trying to pull that same emotion into my words. " **You're gonna have a bad time."**

' _And check the obligatory references off the list.'_

Sweat began to form on the man's brow - with the low level of enhancement I was using to make my eyes glow, I could watch the droplets appear even as I tracked the motion of his trachea when he swallowed.

"O-oi, don't start acting tough!" He blustered. "I could beat a mage like you in an instant!"

I could watch clearly as his mouth formed the syllables - but his voice was perfectly comprehensible, since my ears were still functioning at normal human speeds.

What a peculiar feeling to have senses working at different speeds...still, it was almost a wasted when it was this guy I was perceiving.

With how he was speaking I could only assume a fight was inevitable...I wondered what kind of magic a nameless grunt like this would possess?

Eh, it didn't really matter to me. I'd probably just break his nose or something and let him off with a warn-

"A weak _High-Speed_ mage couldn't dream of beating me!"

 **I'MMA KILL 'EM!**

Before the grunt even knew what was happening, my magically empowered fist had all but made itself one with his back through the most convenient route - namely, his stomach, with the side-effect of _bending him double around my fist._

Pulling my fist back from the indentation it had left, I left the grunt to drop to his knees on the floor in what I could only assume was some pretty damn incredible pain, judging by the blood erupting from his mouth.

I could track the blood as it passed through the air, and I only had to shift a little to keep the splatter off my shoes and let it dye the floor red.

As far as I'm aware, one's magical power tends to react to its user's emotional state - that was how I'd managed to first jump-start my magic, by giving it an outlet in my anger after my breakdown.

At that moment, my magical power crackled and snapped across me like blue lightning, a violent aura that lit almost the entire guild hall with its power.

Because _God FUCKING dammit,_ I had had _enough_ of being called a _fucking High-Speed mage!_

Looking up at me with an expression best described as abject terror, the grunt seemed to have realised he'd made a mistake. "W-woah woah! H-hold on a second here! I was just teasing you, heh-heh, it's something we do to all the new recruits!"

When my expression didn't change and my magical power didn't calm at all, a higher note of panic entered the grunt's voice. "H-hey, no hard feelings right? I-I'll buy you a drink later!"

' _Yeah...how about_ _ **no.**_ '

"Jeez...to think that someone like you was allowed into this guild, all talk and _nothing_ to back it up."

The grunt's eyes widened, and he swallowed once again as I glared down at him. "What did you tell me again?" I made a show of wondering aloud, before snapping my fingers. "Oh right! You were going to pound me into the ground, weren't you?"

His only response was a mute nod.

" **Allow me to return the favour."**

The beginning of a terrified scream he managed to get out was music to my ears - and as I filled my arms with magic, feeling the pulse beneath my skin become nearly a constant sensation as it roared for release, I cut loose.

Two magic circles, iridescent in their brightness, formed around my arms - and in true anime fashion, I proceeded to shout the name of my attack at the _top_ of my _goddamn lungs._

" **OVERDRIVE!"**

My arms blurred out of sight, becoming less a pair of limbs and more an unseeable flurry of enraged blows that rained down on my target like a carpet bombing. In a matter of seconds, hundreds of punches found new homes, beating the man bloody and only halting in its fury when I grabbed him by his collar, yanked him into the air and landed a _devastating_ uppercut to his jaw.

The grunt lifted a good three feet off the air and several more backwards, eventually crashing down on a table and doing much the same to it as I had done to my own piece of furniture.

I blew out a long breath, noting the blue sparks that danced in it from the shroud surrounding me, and let the power retreat back within me.

It had felt pretty good to have something to vent on.

"You were saying, Gajeel?"

I glanced backwards, seeing the same shit-eating grin on Totomaru's face that I could hear in his voice.

And I could _also_ see Gajeel Redfox, laughing his ass off.

"I take it back!" He laughed. "He'll fit in here _juuuust_ fine! _GIHIHIHIHIHI!"_

My stomach dropped with his words. "Y'know, coming from _you_ that just makes me feel uneasy."

Gajeel's laughter only grew louder at that.

* * *

 **A.N: I'll be honest, both of us just wanted to buff this and get it out of the way so we could work on a project that's been eating at us all day.**

 **(Teninshigen): It did make the story look a bit weird, since I only ever advised on this chapter while I was given free reign to edit on...well, every other chapter. It's a pretty marked difference - though not in the story, since all I really do is say the exact same thing with more words.**

 **I agree, hopefully this will hook people into the story much better than before.**

 **(Teninshigen): Well, now we can get to work on something new and take a break from our main stories for a while...and you can get some payback for all the shit you suffered today.**

… **I plan to.**


	2. Rain On My Parade

**6 Months Later, Year X784.**

 _What follows is a collections of short stories that show significant events to happen between 6 months after David joins Phantom Lord, up until the Guild war with Fairy Tail._

* * *

 _"My Recollection."_

 _6 Months till Guild war._

Sometimes, I find it hard to believe that six months have passed already. The time's passed as quickly as summer used to do in the middle of my highschool career...though, unlike in my previous life, I actually _hadn't_ wasted it playing video games and writing fanfiction.

You see, before my unfortunate transition to this world, most of my time was spent at school or sitting in front of my computer desk. Without either of those things, I've been able to realise just what a distraction electronics can be. After all, the things that I've managed to accomplish in six months without my phone or computer are nothing short of _incredible._

Y'know, I dare say I don't even care that I've gone these six months without a single electronic device.

…

Oh, who the fuck am I kidding? I would kill someone with a _goddamn smile on my face_ to have my PC back.

Fortunately, my murderous tendencies were buried under the time sink which had become the main focus of my life. Namely? _Training._

I wasn't about to deceive myself into thinking that killing a Vulcan (partly through sheer luck and getting pasted in the process) and beating up Unnamed Grunt #1 meant that I was ready to handle myself in the world of Fairy Tail. The damn monkey had almost killed me again, mostly because I hadn't been willing to go straight for the kill.

Well, apparently that had changed. I'd had no qualms about killing the Vulcan in the end - I'd exhibited a willingness to do anything in the name of winning.

Or, so Jose Porla had told me - and wasn't _that_ just delightfully terrifying?

I'd always had...anger issues. It didn't start up _easily,_ but once I got going I could hold a venomous hatred damn near forever. Back on Earth, even when people got me to that level of wanting to do _**something**_ to them, I hadn't been in a position to do so. My own lack of physical prowess, not to mention the threat of legal retribution, had always held me in check.

Here? On Earthland? Physical prowess didn't even enter the picture anymore. I had _Magic_. I had POWER, all-caps damn well intended.

I forgot who, but someone had once said that to _really_ test a man's character, you give him power. That saying had been floating around my head a lot lately - and not in a positive way.

I didn't spend a whole lot of time thinking about it, though. Rather than dwelling on unfortunate personality traits that would undoubtedly cause me trouble in the future, I preferred to focus on the positive aspects of having Magic. Namely, being able to _cheat reality like a motherfucker_.

I'd never been a fighter, nor even an athlete - but that didn't mean I couldn't _become_ one. Being a part of the world I was now, being a part of the _Guild_ I was now, meant I needed to become capable of defending myself on the level where experienced Mages operated. People like the Element Four, like Fairy Tail - and the only way to reach that level was to _train my ass off_.

So then, it was a damn good thing I'd been blessed with Speed Magic.

There were several 'facets' to the way my Magic worked, but the one I'd focussed on the most was infusing myself with power and increasing the speed of my body's functions. I'd experimented a little with slowing them down as well, but I'd mostly been caught up in the various ways I got target areas of my body to enhance.

Totomaru spraying milk all over my face because he broke out laughing when I spoke in slow motion might have helped put the kibosh on the whole slowing-down thing, too.

Still, my focus on speeding myself up had proven to my extreme advantage in the end - especially when I combined it with my training.

Muscles grow stronger by being exposed to greater stress than they can comfortably handle, usually through exercising intensely, and suffering damage. So long as that damage wasn't too extreme, the body would then naturally replace and repair those damaged muscle fibers through a cellular process that I wouldn't understand without a lot of Biology knowledge that I was very much lacking. Still, I understood enough to know that the process would fuse new and pre-existing muscle fibers together to create new muscle-protein strands, thereby strengthening the muscle.

Speed Magic, as it happened, was a Godsend when it came to breaking down _or_ building up muscle fibers.

Swimming and running were my primary methods of exercise. Each of them put my legs through their paces in different ways, with swimming doing my upper body good as well, and both of them were good at losing any unnecessary fat I possessed. My legs _were_ the most important part of me to exercise, as I saw it, since not being able to use my magic because my legs crapped out on me due to being too unfit would just be _embarrassing_.

Possibly lethal, too, but that was assuming the embarrassment didn't kill me.

Just channelling Speed Magic during my workout wasn't enough to increase my exercise gains. The same aspect of my Magic that allowed me to ignore atmospheric collisions, friction, inertia and momentum while I was moving also worked on my body if I just channelled my Magic without focus, meaning that my body only acted as if it were experiencing the effort I felt I was exerting, rather than the effort actually involved in moving at such ludicrous speeds. That, while useful in making sure I didn't tire out instantly while using my Magic, meant that I couldn't just channel magic and get instant returns.

Instead, I had to focus my Magic specifically into my legs - and even more specifically in the muscles therein - to get the results I wanted. Once I did though? I started getting the results of hours of hard training from just an intense thirty-minute workout.

Of course, I worked out at that pace for hours at a time. Frankly, the results were...well. _Unrealistically good_.

Between the high-speed breakdown of my muscles and the _equally_ high-speed, magic-powered recovery, I built muscle at what must have been hundreds of times the human norm. I had to eat shed-loads of food to fuel the process, but with the supply of protein and effort I had available, I rapidly went from somewhat-unfit to a proper Fairy Tail physique.

That was a bit of a happy surprise too. Instead of turning into some massively-buff, tumour-muscled Schwarzenegger clone, I'd gained all the strength and endurance benefits of my training without actually building that much visible muscle mass. My abs would make do as a cheese grater and I could probably break a tree by hugging it hard enough, but that unrealistic definition was the only outward sign of my training.

The rewards of living in a shounen universe, I guessed. There was nothing like living in a reality that common sense forgot.

I still had trouble equating the fine specimen of humanity I saw in the mirror most mornings with my usual self.

Strength alone, however, wouldn't be enough to see me through what was to come. Speed Magic and the ability to knife-chop my way through a brick wall were nice, yes, but...just turning up my speedometer and punching thing was...well, not ineffective - especially at sufficient velocity - but kind of...basic?

It made me feel like a bit of an idiot, honestly. I got magic powers and the only thing I could do with them was punch things really hard? I was in Fairy Tail, not Dragonball Z.

Besides, while my Magic protected me from a lot of the facets of reality that would dearly love to subject my super-fast self to their whims, it didn't cover absolutely everything. Reactive force, for instance, could still make me its bitch. I'd broken my fair share of...well, _everything_ since I started my training. Both in myself and in the outside world.

It had all healed eventually, thank God, but if I hit something going too fast I might eventually do something to myself that I couldn't sleep off.

One of the problems there was that I actually wasn't sure just how fast I could move. I'd figured out through early trial and error that the degree to which my speed increased was based on how much magic I was actively channelling. So, my top speed varied - especially since 'power through emotions' was a legitimate thing on Earthland, Magic being the nakama-powered force that it was.

Still, even if I didn't have an exact grasp on my top speed, I knew that the higher my magical capacity climbed the faster I'd be capable of moving at one time and the longer I'd be able to do so. I could only hope that my own ability to survive impacts would grow at a similar rate.

As I'd mentioned before though, I needed more than dumb force and a quick step. So, I'd taken advantage of Totomaru walking in during one of my workouts and he'd been happy to oblige me for a 'friendly duel'.

I hadn't trusted his smile then - and as well I didn't, because he _whipped. My. ASS._

That was officially the point where my traditional battle plan - that being 'Plan? What plan? I'mma run in there, kick ass and not get hit!' - died the ignoble death it deserved. I had no plan, _certainly_ no backup plan, not enough skill to compensate and I didn't have anything I could do at range unless I was going for serious injury or death.

It's amazing how your thought process changes when you can accidentally someone's everything just by throwing a rock too hard.

Still, it convinced me that I needed some kind of edge. Preferably not the kind that would make my eyes bleed because _fuck_ I had read quite enough of that shit for one lifetime (if there was any consolation for not having my devices, it would be the fact that there was a whole universe between me and about 90% of all fanfiction ever written), but something that would give me an, if not insurmountable, then at least damn impressive leg-up over my competition.

It was surprising how easy it was to figure out what that edge would be...but then again, unlike the Mages here, I had a metric fuck-ton of other fictional universes to draw ideas from - and I had no qualms about stealing those ideas for myself.

Most of those ideas, of course, were completely beyond me...but with my Speed Magic, I quickly figured out a way to bullshit my way to power.

I just hoped I'd still be in one piece at the end of the training.

* * *

 _"One step forward, two steps back."_

 _6 Months till Guild War._

"Let's see here. What mission should I take today?"

It didn't take me very long to understand why that one guy with the skulls from Fairy Tail - I think his name was Neb? - spent so much time looking at the request board. It's because the number of missions _is too damn high!_ There were so many of them, and in such variety, that I was completely spoiled for choice. It made choosing one for myself a pain in the ass. Maybe this was the reason people formed teams; having the wider skill-base a team would bring would certainly make choosing jobs easier.

"Oi, David! Just pick one already; you've been there for five minutes already!"

My lips twitched with the urge to tell the voice where they could stuff their advice, but I suppressed the urge. My friendship with Totomaru and my little display of power on my first day had made me one of Phantom Lord's more notable Mages from the get-go. The problem with being a notable Mage in Phantom Lord was that every Mage who _wasn't_ notable then saw me as a possible way to gain status both within and without the Guild, in the same way the Element Four and even Gajeel were seen.

I made like they usually did and just ignored the hell out of them.

Now, let's see here...oh! That one looks great.

-o-

 _"Help Needed!"_

 _Recently, there have been a series of late night attacks on the citizens of Balsam Village. Reports indicate that they were assaulted by an unknown mage. Victims have stated that all of their valuable belongings were taken in the attack. No deaths have been caused by this attack. The thief is believed to be targeting tourists in particular. Catch this criminal!_

 _Reward - 200,000 Jewels._

-o-

Travel fees were a thing of the past, as far as I was concerned. I could make my way to just about any destination under my own power far quicker than any transport could get me there, and for no additional cost. Considering how much a Guild Mage would usually need to pay in transport fees to get to their jobs, that meant I saved a good bit more of my income than the other Phantom Lord Mages.

It was those extra savings which formed part of my reason in choosing the job I had.

My first impression of Balsam Village was something along the lines of "Holy shit, this place is amazing!". As the anime had depicted it, the village was massive, grown large on the profits of tourism. Those profits had been turned to pulling in even more tourists, too, judging by the bright colours and entrancing patterns that were placed so liberally around for people to gape at. There were viewing platforms advertised at various points where you could pay a small fee and then get an uninterrupted view of the beautiful landscape outside the village, made all the more spectacular by the village's placement among a mountain range.

Of course, the view wasn't the main attraction to the village - although, it certainly didn't hurt. The major draw of Balsam Village was the area's high level of geothermal activity, which had been harnessed by the locals to build some of the most renowned spas and hot springs in Fiore. People came from the other side of the country to spend just a few days in Balsam, and after my mission was finished, I was _definitely_ going to use some of my well-earned Jewels to buy some well-earned rest time.

 _After_ the mission, though. Work came first.

Checking the address at the bottom of the mission flyer once more, I wandered off in the direction that the signposts indicated led to the residential part of town. Leaving the tourist-focussed area where the hot springs and spas were mostly located, the level of glitz on show quieted down gradually. The part of Balsam where people actually lived was in no way plain or run-down, but it was...much quieter than the front the village showed.

I eventually found my way to the address listed on the flyer, looking up from the emblazoned mailbox to see the Japanese-styled house it was set in front of. It certainly fit Balsam's aesthetic; it kind of looked like someone had stepped on a Pagoda and it had halfway sprung back into its original shape.

I walked up to the front door to knock...but the _instant_ my knuckle made contact with the door, there was a massive _crash_ sound from beyond the portal, followed quickly by something shattering and a chattering sound that registered to me as 'incoherent excitement' rapidly growing louder from beyond the wood.

About three seconds later, the doorknob rattled like someone was trying to open it. Then the door _did_ open, almost coming off its hinges in the process, and revealed that the source of the cacophony was…

A teenage girl?

Dressed in a pink tanktop and jean shorts, the girl - who definitely couldn't be older than sixteen - had a large camera hanging from her neck and a slightly deranged smile that was probably brighter than her camera's flash. Her hair was long and brown, covering the legs of her glasses, and there were a notepad and pencil in her hands.

It didn't take a genius to recognize a reporter. _Wonderful._

"Hi!" She greeted brightly. "You must be the Phantom Lord mage that accepted the request! I just want to say that I love your guild so much _andIwaswonderingifIcouldgetaninterviewwithyouafter?!"_

...I had no idea what she'd just said. I had even started to lightly increase the speed of my perceptions with magic and I _still_ didn't catch a word of what she'd said. The ringing in my ears told me the general gist of it, though. She was excited to see me - a reporter was excited to see me. So, more than likely, she wanted the same thing every reporter wants.

Before I could remember how diplomacy was supposed to work and then immediately fail at applying it in an attempt to escape, a warm voice echoed up the corridor. "Now now, dear, don't jump the poor boy before he's even past the door."

Looking up, I could see the girl visibly calming as a man I could only assume was her grandfather walked up the corridor beyond the door. His gray hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and his rounded figure would probably have made him a big hit as a mall santa somewhere. The air of age and experience that he wore around himself like a cloak would likely just have made him more popular, and it didn't take much imagination to replace his beige robes with a red jacket and pants in my mind's eye.

Also, apparently he was really good with kids, because I didn't think there was any force of man, Magic or God that could calm down an excited teenage girl like that.

The girl sighed, pouting at the man, but she still headed back into the house. The man followed her path with his eyes and a gentle smile, then turned back to me once she had turned off into some room down the corridor. "I'm sorry about that. She was just accepted as an intern for Sorcerer Weekly, you see, and she very much wants to impress them."

"Well, that'd explain a lot." I noted. It really did, too. Sorcerer Weekly's employees had a reputation for being batshit insane in very specific ways; usually revolving around certain Guilds or Mages. You could never tell what would set one of them off, which was one of the reasons Gajeel complained about them so often.

The man chuckled to himself. "Indeed." He turned back into the house. "Come on in, then. I've just made some tea and it's fairly rare that we have guests nowadays."

Entering the house and following the man down the entrance corridor, we quickly turned off into a very traditional living space. There was nothing particularly fancy, but there was also nothing that stood out as being below the average. Much like the residential district itself, the living space was...pleasantly mundane.

I took a seat on the couch as the man left the room, then came back a few moments later bearing a tray with a teapot and a couple of mugs. He poured us both a cup from the pot after setting the tray down on a side-table, then settled into a well-worn armchair across from me and smiled at me. It seemed to be his default expression. "Well, since my granddaughter didn't scare you off immediately you must be David. I wasn't expecting you to arrive so soon after taking the job; we're quite a long way from Oak Town, and I know it's not the easiest journey to get here."

I grinned. "Only the best for our clients." I told him, parroting some of the words Jose had decisively nailed into my skull.

"Well, it's a pleasure to have you here." The man decided. "My name is Iroh." He glanced to the doorway of the room, where I thought I caught a glimpse of brown hair pulling out of sight around the doorframe. "The young lady who met you at the door is my youngest granddaughter, Mai. Again, I apologise for the reception, but she's been positively bouncing off the walls ever since your Guild took the job."

I paused for a moment in taking a sip from the tea in front of me, staring at the kind-faced old man. On closer inspection, he _did_ look kind of similar...but this man still had most of his hair, and his beard was kept fairly short. It was probably just an odd coincidence.

That questioned laid aside, I finished taking a sip from the tea - and even though I wasn't usually a tea person, I immediately decided that there wasn't any better tea than this on the face of Earthland. "This," I declared, "is _really good._ " I could feel the warmth spreading outward from my stomach already, adding a comforting sensation beyond the taste alone.

Iroh's smile grew a bit wider. "Ah, then the honey in the mix was a good idea. I'm glad to hear it."

It was...nice, to be able to simply sat down and chat with Iroh for a little while. I'd had precious little opportunity to do _anything_ slowly as of late. Even my conversations with Totomaru were rather high-octane, the Mage being as high-energy as his own element.

I found myself regretting the fact that it couldn't last.

"Well then." Iroh eventually sighed, setting down his empty mug. "Let's get down to business, shall we?"

I nodded, setting down my own mug and listening attentively as he began to speak. "As you'd have read on the notice, there have been a string of attacks on our townspeople lately. It started out as a few robberies here and there, and we thought they were isolated events..that is, until robberies became muggings, each victim saying much the same when they gave their report. They would be knocked out from behind with no warning, then awake to find all the valuables on their person stolen."

Iroh clasped his hands in front of himself, lowering his head a bit. "The town's elders wanted to let the local law enforcement handle it. They don't want to have to hire a Mage and possibly lose customers because they lose faith in Balsam's ability to police itself. But…" He looked up, and I found myself startled at the look in his eyes. There was something like fear, there - but it was almost hidden beneath a barely-leashed rage. "Then, last week, my granddaughter was attacked."

I could hear the bones in his hands creak as he clasped them tighter in front of himself. "My son and his wife are currently serving in the Royal Army and the Rune Knights, respectively. They asked me to look after Mai when they realised they didn't have enough time to truly care for her anymore, and my brother…" He grimaced. "Well, that's another matter." He looked me in the eye. "They asked me to look after her, and yet mere minutes from my home she was knocked unconscious and robbed."

I didn't say anything, for a long moment. Then I nodded. "I told you when I got here that it was nothing but the best for our clients." I stated. "I'll hold to that. I promise you, sir - I'll bring them down faster than you can say Phantom Lord."

Iroh held my gaze for a minute. Then, he nodded, the worst of the tension leaving him...though now that I paid closer attention, I could see it didn't fade entirely. "Thank you, young man. Thank you." He sighed, unclasping his hands and shaking them out a bit. "Ah, it seems I'm not as young as I used to be. These old bones can't handle all they used to."

Shaking his head, Iroh offered me another smile. "Thank you, for indulging an old man's wish for some calm amid these trying times."

I shook my head. "It wasn't a problem - the tea was really good."

His smile grew wider. "I thank you for the compliment. Now, is there anything I can do for you to aid you in your task? I could, perhaps, have Mai give you a tour of the village-"

I paled, holding up my hands. "Oh, no, Iroh, I'm fine! I'll probably be on the rooftops most of the time anyway, so a tour wouldn't be as useful." I paused. "There's no need for you or your granddaughter to go out of your way on my account."

Iroh's smile became slightly smaller, but I could see a trace of relief in it. "If you say so, David."

Crisis averted. Go me. "Is there anything else that was fairly common in those reports?" I asked. "Any patterns?"

Iroh gave a half-shrug. "All the attacks took place from midnight to the early morning, usually in the areas around the middle-class hotels and inns. Apart from that, no one's so much as heard a footstep before they were attacked."

I nodded absently, glancing first out of the window and then at a brass clock mounted on the wall. "Right, so I've got a few hours to kill." I drummed my fingers on the arm of the couch. "I don't suppose you could recommend anything to do around here that wouldn't empty my wallet?"

Iroh opened his mouth to answer - but he was cut off by a blur of pink that flew around the doorframe and re-materialised as Mai, standing an uncomfortably small number of inches away from me. "WE CAN DO AN INTERVIEW!"

As I was grabbed by the shoulder and yanked almost off my feet into the depths of the house, I could see Iroh chuckling to himself.

If only I could bring myself to even slightly dislike him. Damn him. Damn him and his Santa Claus likability.

-o-

The interview honestly wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. Mai's questions, though a bit tabloid-ish and coming in quite rapid-fire, didn't poke or pry very deeply in my past or personal matters. Which was a damn good thing, because as far as I was concerned _nobody_ would _ever_ learn of my life before that fateful afternoon when I met Totomaru. Any other possibility was just too risky, what with Dark Guilds and other assorted nastiness running loose all over Fiore.

God only knew what they would do to someone with knowledge of the future. Something bad for my health was, at least, certain.

Still, Mai didn't tread close to that dangerous ground, which I appreciated. I'd have to remember to ask for her if I ever had to give another interview; she was by far the sanest reporter I'd met or heard of in this world.

...Which was really kind of sad, honestly.

Turning my thoughts away from Mai as I walked out of the door, I began to plan out a basic search pattern for the town. I had a map of the place with me (admittedly a tourist's map that mostly focussed on the highest-priced areas, but it was something) and that would help, but there were decent odds that the person I was chasing knew the area better than I did and would be able to avoid me unless I chose a good patrol path.

Unlike how Fairy Tail's missions usually went, not every job request a Mage took was going to go FUBAR. About 60% of them were just what it said on the job request, and another 30% would only be marginally off the beaten path.

In fact, that remaining 10% were probably all Fairy Tail's missions. Plot armour was danger-magnetic, after all.

I certainly hadn't experienced anything like that since joining Phantom Lord...though, thinking about it, Murphy's Law dictates that my self-assurance in the mission's normality meant it was going to turn into a fantastic shitshow.

 _Wonderful._

I pushed that though to the back of my mind as I flicked on my Magic for a moment, getting a running start at the wall of a two-storey building which passed under my feet moments later, depositing me on the roof in a blur of motion. Pulling my magical power back inside myself, I took a moment to orient myself and then ran across the roof, easily jumping the gap to the next building and keeping low so as not to be silhouetted against the stars.

I looked carefully into every alley I jumped over, the slightest touch of magical power in my eyes giving me time to scan the shadows without making my eyes glow _too_ brightly. I would look around while running, checking the rooftops around myself for anything that looked out of place.

Thus did my pattern continue for a good hour. A _really boring_ hour, where the only thing keeping my focus sharp was the discipline I'd drilled into myself for the purposes of controlling my Magic or working my body to its current level. God, roof-hopping was such an exciting thing to do, but there was _nothing happening_ -

Wait a second - oh, shit, I got something!

Across the street from where I was running, there was a faintly humanoid silhouette against the starry horizon. I immediately came to a stop, thanking the soles of my specially-bought shoes for not shrieking in protest as my momentum died almost instantaneously. Crouching low, I narrowed my eyes at the figure, which was just crouching down.

There were a couple of possibilities to explain why someone was up on the roofs past midnight. One option was that they were another Mage working the case - except Iroh had been the one to issue the job, and no-one else had turned up at his house in the hours I'd been there, nor had he said anything about someone arriving before me. They might be a drunk, a tourist or the owner of the house...except there was no obvious entry to that roof and the person was wearing what seemed to be a cloak, judging by the way it broke up their silhouette.

That left option three - that I'd just found my quarry...and honestly, judging from the fact that he just jumped off the building towards that woman walking below, I'd say that was pretty likely.

...Wait, _shit-!_

-?-

The cloaked figure dropped from the rooftop and landed silently in the empty street, shoes with soles that looked almost two inches thick flexing to absorb the force without protest. The eyes beneath the cloak's hood were focussed entirely on the back of the young woman in front of them; clearly a tourist, judging by her clothing. She was humming an upbeat tune, her purse swaying from side to side where it hung from her shoulder.

Target acquired.

The figure, staying low, jogged up behind her with their shoes still absorbing all the noise of their passage. Then, once they was close enough, they withdrew their arm from the folds of their cloak and opened their fist to reveal a palm covered in faintly yellow dust. A quick puff of breath blew the dust forward, then the figure caught the young woman by the shoulders as she collapsed instantly.

Lowering the woman to the ground, the figure in the cloak then reached for her purse with an unseen grimace.

He had to stop doing this. Even if it was for a good cause, going around and stealing from tourists and townsfolk was no way to live. _Especially_ for one of his station and skills.

Dammit, if only he didn't have the Magic Council on his ass he could be making _millions_ of Jewels and people would be fucking _praising him for it_...but unfortunately, he didn't have that luxury. Those blasted fools in their ivory tower had made damn sure of _that._

So, unless he wanted to paint an even bigger target on his back by joining up with a lucrative Dark Guild, stealing it would have to be-

His fingers hadn't quite touched the purse when every instinct he'd developed screamed at him to move. It was a good thing he did too, because not half a second after he'd leapt backwards a glowing blue leg embedded itself in the pavement where he'd been standing.

As he followed that leg up to the face of its blue-glowing owner, he silently sighed to himself.

He really didn't need to be dealing with this shit.

-o-

Pulling my foot and lower shin from the powdered stone that had once been a paving stone, I used the inhuman speed of my perceptions to study the criminal Mage before me. I was pretty sure they were a Mage, at least; the strange powder, the lack of noise when they moved and the whole 'dropping several storeys to the ground' were all pretty good indicators.

There was a dark, somewhat tattered cloak wrapped around the figure - but their hood had come down when they leapt back, and I could see the clothing beneath the cloak where it hung open at the front. It was, oddly enough, a black suit - the kind of thing I'd expect to see a CEO wear. It wasn't in great shape, but it was recognisable. The man himself looked to be in his early thirties, though he might be older considering the wonders magic did for a person's longevity, with black hair that reached down past his shoulders and eyes that were equally as black.

Also, holy shit, he looked _scarily_ like Hashirama Senju.

"Who the hell are you?" His voice was a gravelly bass tone - and _man_ he sounded pissed.

"Phantom Lord." I replied, shaking my leg out a bit to get the dust off. "Word around the village says people are getting robbed. You wouldn't know anything about that, would you?"

"I didn't ask for your _Guild_ , I asked for your name, _boy_."

Ooooh, he did _not_ just call me boy. I am a _grown-ass eighteen-year-old now_ , and I will _not_ be referred to as a _child!_

"Isn't it polite to introduce _yourself_ first?" I asked absently, narrowing my eyes as my anger ratcheted up my Magic's intensity a bit. Yeah, my anger issues were... _far_ from gone. They'd actually...kind of gotten worse.

Oops?

Thankfully, angry or not, I could still make use of one of the Universal Laws of Fairy Tail - that being that, almost to a man, if you give a Mage an opportunity to be really overdramatic or explain how their techniques work, they'll take it in a heartbeat. I'd learned how to make good use of it in the last few months…

The man growled, reaching up to his throat and throwing his cloak aside in a grand, sweeping gesture. "It seems you need a lesson in manners." The man cracked his neck, his eyes flashing. "I am indeed the one who has been robbing the people of this town. My name is Loki O-"

...and my timing was down to a _science_. **"Shave!"**

While I was in the process of burying my fist in Loki's face, a process which took several subjective seconds from my perspective, I once more found myself glad that I'd chosen the Six Powers, or Rokushiki, of the One Piece universe as my personal edge.

A fighting style as deadly as it was bullshit, incorporating six major techniques and a secret seventh, it required such a degree of training as to transcend normal human limitations in both body and mind. In six months of super-speed working, I'd only managed to work out how I could perform four of the six; the remaining two were beyond my reach with Speed Magic alone, and I didn't have the constitution of a One Piece native.

What I _did_ have, however, was my own way to cheat at faking that constitution.

'Shave', a technique where the user kicked the ground over ten times in a single instant to propel themselves at speeds greater than the eye could track. It only worked in straight lines, but _goddamn_ did it work once I figured it out.

Once the force properly transferred from my fist to his face, Loki was sent hurtling down the length of the street, lifted from his feet by the blow. I chased after him immediately, wanting to maintain the initiative I'd just won for myself.

I was no shounen protagonist. My ability to derive strength from my emotions wasn't a magical cure-all or a second wind. If I wanted to win, to win safely, I had to pull out every trick I had and exploit every advantage. If that meant baiting someone into lowering their guard so they could rattle off their spiel, then _I'd fucking do it._

Honour was dead. I, however, _wouldn't_ be.

By the time I caught up with Loki, he was at too awkward an angle for me to punch him again. So, I went straight past him, crouching and rolling onto my back just in time for his back to pass above me.

My mule kick caught him straight in the lower back as I continued to roll backwards, launching him upwards and onwards over the roofs of Balsam as I regained my feet and followed.

I couldn't let this fight happen in Balsam. I knew nothing of his capabilities and I wasn't about to risk the lives of everyone here.

Plus, if a Phantom Lord Mage destroyed something while on the job, Jose would take the repair costs out of that Mage's own wallet. No matter how much money I was saving on travel fees, my savings couldn't take the abuse of paying to rebuild a major tourist town.

Better for all involved that I just kept kicking him out of the way, really.

As it turned out, there was no need for another hit. Loki passed over the boundaries of the town and started to fall down a cliff-face, and while I followed behind him he seemed to reboot his brain and throw his arm out towards the stone below. **"Wood-Make: Net!"**

As I ran down the sheer cliffside, my Magic overcoming physics for me and letting me keep traction without falling or launching myself from the vertical surface, I watched a tree erupt from the side of the cliff with an explosion of stone, before the plant grew far too quickly and split down the centre of the trunk, a series of vine-like cords stretching between the two forks.

The improvised structure caught Loki handily, stopping his fall gently, and he turned back up to me with a glare as I approached. I glared right back, launching myself downward from the cliff and cocking back my fist as he raised his arm in return.

" **Overdrive!"**

 **"Wood-Make: Canopy!"**

The forked tree's trunk abruptly burst into new life, wood flowing like a liquid over the top of the net and concealing Loki beneath it just in time to intercept the barrage of punches I launched. I could feel the pain from striking the solid surface, but it was dulled. Discipline, Magic and good old calluses were a Godsend for someone who liked punching things as much as I did.

I ended the barrage of punches quickly since I could see that I wasn't going to make any progress in terms of breaking the wooden shield. I placed my hands on Loki's impromptu shield, flinging myself off its side. Now stuck in a near free fall, both of my feet struck outward.

 **"Moonwalk!"**

'Moonwalk', possibly the least sensical of all the Six Powers. Even I wasn't entirely sure how I made it work; yet, after months of training, I had managed to kick out hard enough to push off _the air itself_ , effectively letting me run and leap through the sky. According to everything I knew about physics, getting air to react like a solid should be compressing it to the point of _nuclear fusion…_

But, fuck it. Anime physics - or, at least, Magic. I wasn't going to complain.

The resulting burst of speed sent me catapulting through the air toward Loki, whose expression had gone from confident to downright confused in a second. It quickly changed to agony as I flipped around in mid air, delivering a devastating dropkick right into his gut.

The strike launched Loki backwards, from the net he'd been nestled in onto the solid surface of his shield above. Instead of slamming into it, though, his impact seemed to stretch the wood backwards like the skin of a balloon and bleed away the force. When he'd stopped, he smacked his hands against the wood to either side of him and then thrust them both forwards, shouting as he did so. **"Wood-Make: Hammer!"**

The wood flowed like nothing in nature should at Loki's command, all the material of his net and canopy coming together into a blunt, cylindrical surface that then dropped from the cliff-face with the Mage himself within, plunging straight towards me.

I found a foothold in the air once more, kicking myself out of the way. Loki's makeshift hammer passed by me harmlessly, dropping down the side of the cliff. I allowed gravity to take hold of me as well, following the Mage.

The massive cylinder crashed to the ground and promptly fell forwards, away from the cliff-face, to lie horizontal on the ground. By the time I reached the ground, it still hadn't moved and there was no sign of Loki.

 _'The fuck did he go?'_ I wondered, my eyes lighting up blue as I frantically looked around for the man in question. I hit the ground with a dull thud, my eyes peeled for any attack that could come from Loki.

The first sign of where the fuck Loki had gone came when a massive tremor ran through the ground, knocking me off-balance for a moment. Then the earth began to surge upwards in areas scattered all around me, as if something was pushing at it from below - and something _was_ , as I found out a moment later when wooden pillars began exploding from the earth at high speed.

 _'Yeah, how about no.'_

A blue aura rapidly surrounded me, and with all the strength and speed I could muster, I launched myself into the air. Just in time too, since each pillar abruptly stopped growing _up_ , and started growing _out_. Branches shot from the outermost trunks and wove into one another to create a massive, wicker-basket-like enclosure, which then began to sprout leaves and various buds. The inner pillars all began to sprout branches that wove into another as well, creating a kind of 'web' that began to box me in - and high above me, I could just barely see a ceiling starting to form.

From somewhere in the centre of the enclosure, Loki's voice boomed. **"WOOD-MAKE: ENTRAPMENT OF THE WICKER MEN!"**

As long as the name of his technique was, I didn't want to stick around to see what it did. Even more magic pumped into my legs, causing them to glow even brighter. Both of my legs blurred out of sight, slamming into the air faster and faster as I raced to out-maneuver the tendrils of wood that were lashing together on the trap's perimeter. I just barely shot out of the wooden cage, the tendrils nearly grabbing my heels.

I retreated another short distance as the wood, which had finished forming a nigh-solid wall, bulged outwards and took on a new shape. It was Loki's face, though on a massive scale, and it glared at me. "A MAGE WHOSE ONLY SKILL IS TO RUN AWAY." The voice creaked, sounding rather like the forest from which it was made. Just with the volume turned way up. "YOU ARE WHAT THEY SEND TO DEAL WITH _ME_? AND TO THINK, I'D THOUGHT THE MAGIC COUNCIL HAD ALREADY DEALT ME THE MOST GRIEVOUS INSULT THEY COULD MUSTER."

He sniffed. It sounded like a small hurricane forming. "ME! A SLAYER OF MONSTERS, DEFENDER OF KINGDOMS, SCOURGE-"

As entertaining as his monologue was, I really didn't care. So I decided to give him the most polite and reasonable response I could.

I flipped him off.

For a moment, the giant face simply _stared_ at me. Then...its cheeks started turning red? I was confused for about five seconds as the entire face turned a bright red, then it closed its mouth for a moment as the 'cheeks' bulged.

I had just enough time to think _'OH SHIT'_ and launch myself sideways before _the wooden face spat out a roiling fireball._

A fireball that, for some reason, smelled like maple syrup.

 _'Is he using the properties of wood to create various effects? Not good for me…'_ Ignoring the slight aching of my legs I began to shoot up through the air. "HEY FUCKASS! YOU GOT ANOTHER LONG-ASS NAME FOR THIS ONE TOO?"

The face on the wooden wall glared at me, then sank back into the wall, scorched lips and all. A moment later, Loki's voice rang out as the upper ceiling of the massive artificial forest began to bulge. "THOUGH IT HAS A NAME, I WILL NOT SHARE IT WITH SUCH AN UNCULTURED-"

I flipped him off again.

There was silence for a long moment as the forest fell still. Then there was a sigh like a tornado starting, and Loki spoke in a perfectly calm voice. **"FUCK IT."**

And that was about the point where the massive number of trees and branches _stood the fuck up._

The form it took was that of a man, so tall he would have towered over Balsam's tallest structure, and with the rest of the anatomically-incorrect body to scale. The arms and legs looked swollen with wooden muscles, while vivid green leaves and other plantlife formed a 'skin' that would probably soften blows and make it damn hard to burn. The fists were gnarled hunks of wood that could easily serve as battering rams, and though it had no face, I could just see Loki perched atop its head with his arms crossed and a glare on his face.

There was a moment's pause. Then, one of the massive fists was raised, and a single tree trunk grew from its centre.

I returned the favor and flipped him off with both hands. "Bet you make up a long-ass name for that too."

Loki's eyebrow twitched. Then the giant Wicker Man set itself, cocked its fist and took a swing that could have snapped the top off a mountain.

Unfortunately for Loki, the punch's speed was nothing compared to mine. I sped through the air, over the relatively slow strike, making my way towards the head of the giant wicker man. As I went, both ahead of me and behind me the top of the limb erupted into life, unsupported vines, massive trunks, strangely tall flowers and other obstacles or impediments rushing skywards to try and grab hold of me.

A little part of my mind wondered just how the hell I was going to beat this guy. The greater part of it was focused on dodging.

I wasn't too worried about what was happening behind me - I was proud enough of my speed to be sure none of that was gonna catch me. The same could be said for the things below me, since I'd be gone before they caught up me. The stuff in front of me though... _that_ could be an issue.

Or, it would - if I wasn't a _fucking boss._

I vaulted over the first tree trunk that rose into my path, already three-quarters of the way down the length of the arm. Flipping myself over its top let me use its side as a launch platform, which I promptly did. Some Moonwalk kicks let me re-orient myself before I spun around myself in a corkscrew, passing through a small gap in a wall of vines that was still constructing itself. They almost caught my feet when they collapsed as I passed through, but by the time the gap was gone so was I, carrying on a slalom course of bouncing off the more solid obstacles and occasionally using them as pivots to take me out of the way of something faster-growing.

It was a total rush from start to finish, with plenty of close calls; thorns that grew moments after I took my hands off the plants, clouds of odd spores and gases, one trunk even sprouted a massive red flower that tried to burn me again.

Everything, however, I escaped by the skin of my teeth. I'd need to buy a new outfit when I could, but I was unharmed but for a few scratches and some reddened skin.

I was _also_ now at the Wicker Man's shoulder.

 **"Shave!"**

My foot slamming into the wood, leaving a fairly deep imprint and scattered, splintered cracks. I exploded forward in an unseeable blur, appearing right in front of Loki. My leg came up into a beautiful roundhouse kick that slamming right into his chest, sending the man flying off the wooden construct.

I followed shortly after, grabbing ahold of Loki by the back of his head as we both corkscrewed, then waited for the right moment as we rotated (from my perspective, at least) slowly.

Then we were facing the ground, and my legs bunched up beneath me before striking at the air like it owed me money.

The two of us were sent towards the ground faster than gravity could ever account for, the unfortunate Loki not having my Magic's protection from silly things like friction, atmospheric collision and G-forces. His attempt to scream was turned into a cartoonishly wide-open mouth like someone had shoved a leaf-blower in his face, and it was still open that way when we hit the ground with all the force of a small meteor.

Loki's face first, of course.

I, on the other hand, turned my momentum around in an instant and backflipped away from the impact without actually touching the ground. A gift of my Magic, that let me completely ignore all the injury my assault might have done me in favour of a soft landing a few metres away from where Loki was planted face-first in the ground with his body stuck completely upright.

In the background, the Wicker Man seemed to lose its driving force. The entire thing was already coming apart as it collapsed, falling into a mountain of loose flora that would probably grow something very interesting in the future. In front of me, however, Loki had fallen over, popping his head from the dirt as he flopped around like a fish. It took a little while, but he managed to get on his hands and knees and spit out the dirt in his mouth, clearing it from his eyes before turning to me with a dazed glare. "Imp'd'nt ch'ld…" He slurred, probably from a mix of the concussion and the broken face. "Y'u t'nk y'u c'n g't th' b'st o' _meh_?"

He raised his left arm to the sky, taking a deep breath, a thick green glow of magic beginning to spiral around him. **"W'D MEK, ULT'M'T T'CHN'QUE:"**

Even if I couldn't understand the entirety of that, I could still tell that he was about to unleash something I did not want to deal with.

The grass around our feet was beginning to grow quickly, waving unnaturally in a wind that wasn't there. Odd flowers were starting to appear, budding far too fast. It felt like the very texture of the earth below me was shifting even as tremors began to run through like they had before the appearance of the Entrapment. That green glow which was surrounding Loki spread further, leaving the area awash in light as it grew into a pillar surrounding him. **"N'TIV'TY O' A-** "

 **"TEMPEST KICK!"**

I didn't hesitate. He had left himself wide open, perfectly situated for the third of the four Six Powers I'd mastered. The Tempest Kick, wherein the user kicked the air so quickly that the resulting pressure formed a wavefront that could slice through stone. It was the most deadly of the techniques I'd so far mastered, its only use being as an offensive weapon.

That was the technique I launched at Loki - and it flew on the exact path I'd expected, intersecting Loki's upraised arm at the shoulder.

I'd figured out Tempest Kick fairly early. It was, in fact, one of my most well-practiced techniques.

It took Loki's arm off like it was nothing at all - and for a moment, Loki didn't even seem to notice.

Then the disconnected chunk of meat and bone hit the ground, Loki looked down...and it was all over but the screaming.

-o-

I left Loki at the local hospital.

I considered taking his arm along, since they might be able to re-attach it...but in the end, I chose not to. It...almost didn't sit well with me, but that was still the decision I came to. Just looking at it was almost enough to make me throw up - but beyond that, there was the knowledge that Loki would, if he ever got out of prison and tried to return to this way of living, always have that reminder of what he'd done.

Part of me felt it was disproportionate. Then I considered how many deadly plants I must have evaded, how many opportunities to kill me Loki had tried to make. If I was to survive, I could be nothing less than ruthless in battle - I couldn't let morality interfere when my life was on the line.

So I left his arm there by the ruins of his Wicker Man, and I dropped the rest of him off at the hospital after dragging along some members of the local police force who were on night duty. They had a pair of handcuffs that would suppress the magical power of the person they were put on, something law enforcement across Fiore had as a matter of course, and they locked both bands around Loki's single remaining arm.

I walked out of the hospital in a slight daze, wandering back along the route to Iroh's house. As I went, I reached into my pocket and withdrew the letter I had taken when I searched Loki's pockets after knocking him out post-dismemberment.

The name on the front stood out in black ink against the white paper. _Laki Olietta._

Turned out that Loki was apparently some relation of Laki's. Probably her dad, if I went by the estimate I'd made of his age.

The possible repercussions were still circling around in my head when I arrived at Iroh's house. I knocked, still a bit out of it, and when the old man opened the door and saw me, he just gave a soft smile. Never mind the scrapes and still-red skin, or the tattered and torn clothing with a massive bloodstain down my side from where Loki had bled all over me. He just smiled that same smile as he had in his living room hours before. "Thank you, David."

My voice came out as a weary sigh. "No sweat…"

Iroh stood back in the doorway, gesturing me in. "I believe some of my son's old clothes would fit you." He told me, still smiling. "And no shower in Balsam Village has ever wanted for hot water."

"Uh...ok. Thanks." I said, not familiar with the phrasing. "Just point me to it."

A long shower later, when I emerged from the bathroom in sensible trousers and a vaguely oriental robe-like top in red, I walked into the living room. Iroh was waiting there with another pot of tea, and I gave him a grateful smile as I drank from it, the two of us sitting in companionable silence for a while as the clock ticked onwards towards three AM.

"You can stay the night, if you wish." Iroh told me. "I'll need to get the money for your reward from the bank in any case, so it would simply save someone a trip."

"Thanks Iroh, I'd actually appreciate that a lot." I said, before the thought of Loki's letter entered my mind again. "I...could use some advice, too…"

Iroh nodded, placing his mug down on the table between us. "I recognise the look." He told me. "My son has worn it more than once, as has - to my great regret - my nephew." He clasped his hands, leaning back in his seat. "I am but an old man, but I shall help as best I can."

"Yeah, I kinda, sorta, cut off that guy's arm…"

Iroh blinked. "You showed considerable restraint then, I must say."

I raised a brow. "Restraint? Really?" Actually, thinking about it, I could have done...a lot worse to Loki. A _whole lot_ worse.

Before Iroh could respond, I raised a hand. "Wait, no. I get what you're saying. I could have killed him if I wanted to, but I didn't so I shouldn't let it get to me?"

"Well, that's about the gist of it." Iroh admittedly cheerfully. "I would say, though, that it is better to let such things get to you than to try and hold them at arm's length. I have seen more than one person try to hold back such feelings, only for them to eventually buckle beneath the weight." He shook his head. "Take pride in your restraint, David, but do find a coping mechanism, or a release. I myself have always regretted any violence required of me, and I have picked up several hobbies to let off some steam."

His eyes flicked meaningfully to his tea-set. "I still do regret the necessity of violence." He sighed. "But, I have never truly regretted the actions I have taken, for I felt they were all justified."

He looked up sharply. "Do you feel your actions were justified, David?"

Considering that Loki was attacking innocent people, tried to kill me, and probably was going to wipe out me and Balsam Village with his ultimate technique? "Yep."

Iroh smiled again. "Well then, consider yourself advised."

I turned in a little while later, warmed from the tea and calmed from the talking. I didn't have pleasant dreams, but...that was fine.

In the end, I felt my actions were justified - and that was all that mattered.

-o-

Two days later, my surety in that belief was beginning to fray a bit.

Loki was off with the Rune Knights, the goods he'd stolen having been recovered and returned to their proper owners after a quick search of the town. I had given Mai a much-abridged retelling of what had happened, which she had bolstered with pictures of the Wicker Man that she'd been able to take from the roof of her home.

It had been a big fucking golem, that was for sure.

With that done, and after asking Iroh to take the cost of the clothes he gave me out of my pay for the mission (which I later learned he hadn't done, probably with a smile on his face), I had returned home and spent the next day or so procrastinating over the issue of The Letter.

Unfortunately, enhanced perceptions make procrastination a total bitch. Hence why I was standing here now.

In Magnolia.

On the main road.

Facing Fairy Tail.

With the Phantom Lord emblem appearing proudly on my chest, purple against white as was the case in damn near every outfit I owned.

God, I wished I'd procrastinated a little more.

The letter was in my right hand, and it was taking a distinct effort of will not to crush it. My left hand was drumming superhumanly fast on my outer thigh. My heart was beating far too quickly, and I felt like I might be sweating in the fairly cool January air.

The Fairy Tail Guild Hall was just as impressive as I remembered from the show.

An imposing building consisting of three floors, with the basic shape of a pagoda as each floor was smaller than the one below it and sitting on its roof. The roofs also bore great resemblance to those of real pagoda, consisting of extremely long, arched tiles lined up one after the other and possessing simple curved protrusions jutting upwards on the building's angles. On the highest roof, topping the summit of the building, sat a simple, round and pointed dome which bore a flag on its point.

The roof below the one with the dome, the middle one, housed a large banner with Fairy Tail's symbol on it, held up by a pair of vertical poles. The building's large entrance was reminiscent of the dome on the summit and above it was the Guild's name, topped by a protruding, stylized heart shape and flanked by a pair of carved fairies. Stylized heart shapes were also visible on the frames of the numerous, large pentagonal windows located on each floor, with the top floor housing smaller, arched windows partially covered by banners.

It took me ten minutes to build up the mental description through staring at it. Ten minutes where I didn't take a single step forward.

Ten minutes that were gone way too soon.

I swallowed, feeling how dry my throat had become.

Dammit - I had to go in there, one way or another. I could either walk in on my own, or someone was gonna realise a Phantom Lord Mage was standing staring at their Guild and I was gonna get my ass beaten like a kettle drum.

...Fuck it, fear was for the weak.

I managed to hold that bravado for about as long as it took for me to throw Fairy Tail's saloon doors wide open, instantly drawing the eye of every single person in the building.

At that point, I just swallowed again and waved nervously. "Uh...hi?"

I was off to a _great_ start.

The inside of the first floor was similar to a large lunch hall and mainly consisted of wood, possessing a patterned floor and a mezzanine held up by wood beams overlooking it. Several long benches and the related tables stretched across its length with a bar at the end, the request board located right beside the bar.

The majority of those benches were currently covered in Mages, the majority of whom were now staring at me. I could pick out some more notable people - Macao Conbolt and Wakaba Mine drinking together at a bench, Team Shadow Gear in a corner with Levy McGarden still reading a book, Mirajane Strauss behind the bar, Cana Albarn looking at me out of the corner of her eye around a whole barrel of some unknown alcohol she was chugging…

Then I caught sight of my [s]target[/s] _intended recipient of delivery_ , Laki Olietta. That was the good news.

The bad news was that she was at the far end of the goddamn room and I'd have to walk past fucking _everyone_ to get to her.

God fucking dammit.

It took far more willpower than I wanted to admit to take my first step forward. Every muscle not dedicated to walking was at maximum tension, my Magic was roaring at my unease and trying to escape, and I was still trying not to crush the fucking letter. Then my foot touched the ground, and a grip like a titanium clamp slammed itself home over my right shoulder.

I could feel the bones therein creaking as I _froze_ in place. Then, as I stood unmoving, I heard a commanding, but obviously female, voice speak up with all the weight of Loki's Wicker Man. "What business does a Phantom Lord Mage have in Fairy Tail?"

I wanted to speak, I really did. Maybe explain the details of why I'm here, or at least show her the letter so I could get the industrial press grip off of my. But what actually came out of my mouth was-

"Uhhhhhhh…"

Something like that.

If anything, the lack of response simply made the grip tighten. I suddenly remembered Erza's usual response to people withholding information about her, and tried to brace myself for what I would bet good money was the hardest goddamn headbutt from here to Era-

"Mmm. Now Erza, if I had to guess, he's probably here to deliver the letter he's holding."

-only to find myself rescued by the tiny form of Makarov Dreyar, who was suddenly sitting on one of the nearby benches when I could have sworn he wasn't there a moment earlier. Then again, he was _tiny_ , so maybe he'd just walked and I hadn't been able to see him.

I wasn't complaining either way.

"Yeah! That's why I'm here, just gotta deliver this letter and I'll be off!" I couldn't keep the mess of relief, panic, and fear, out of my voice. I have _no_ idea how I could convey all three at once. But hey, being in fear of Erza Scarlet is a _helluva_ thing.

Erza's grip had relinquished a notch when Makarov spoke up. When I gibbered out my response, she turned back to me, her brown eyes - one fake, one real - meeting my own blue and glaring with enough force that I expected my eyeballs to vacate my skull in the other direction. That thankfully didn't happen, and instead she let go of my shoulder. "Very well." She said, in a clipped tone which indicated she wasn't at all happy with this.

I didn't move for another few moments - long, _long_ moments - until Makarov spoke up idly. "Y'know, if you've got something to deliver, you'd better do it quickly."

I almost jumped, but thankfully I could keep myself together enough so I didn't. "You're right about that." I said quickly, resisting the urge to use my magic as I made my way over to Laki.

Laki was a slim young woman of average height with straight, pale lavender hair set in a style similar to a bowl cut, with her fringe covering the left part of her forehead and the right side exposed. She had dark eyes, a shade I recognised from Loki even behind her glasses, and a large, dark-colored ribbon adorning the top of her head.

She was sitting next to Nab, a massive man with a tribal motif and a necklace of small (hopefully decorative) skulls, and both their sets of eyes were among the many tracking me as I made a valiant effort to walk forward without showing any of my anxiety.

It's 'valiant' when you do something despite it being doomed to failure, right?

"Laki right? I have a letter from your Dad." I tried to keep that from sounding too awkward, I really did. Good thing she seemed too surprised to care.

Indeed, she looked like she was about to fall off her chair. "From...my Dad?" She almost-whispered. "Are…" She shook her head as if to clear it. "You're sure of that?"

I suppressed the wince. "Yep, I got it from him myself…" The wave of guilt was harder to suppress though.

I offered her the letter and she took it with hands there were trembling, just a little. She stared at it for a long moment, then abruptly looked up at me again. "My father…" She started, biting her lip. "Is...how is he?"

"He's, uh… Doing alright from what I last saw." The guilt is getting harder to suppress now.

Laki seemed to pick up on the fact that I _really_ didn't want to be standing where I was, but she still chewed her lip for a moment before asking one more question, even more quietly than she had the first. "...What was he like?"

"Well…" What do I say!? Most of our conversation was screaming and me flipping him off. "He's a rather…" I struggled to find a word, going with what my mind gave me first.

 _"Disarming person."_

Too soon, David. Too soon.

Laki seemed a bit confused, since I...really hadn't told her jack shit, so I tried again.

"That is to say… He was confident, didn't take any shit from people, and he's a very accomplished Mage. So I was a little put off by him." Oh goddamnit, I've gotta say something else. "He was nice enough to me though."

If that wasn't a blatant lie, I don't know what is. Laki seemed happy to hear it though, so...yay?

"...Thank you…" She said, her eyes already going to the letter in her hands once more, and I took that was my cue to _get the fuck out of dodge_.

I inclined my head a bit, doing so at a speed that probably wouldn't be healthy for a normal person, and immediately turned around, casting words and a wave over my shoulder. "Not a problem, happy to help, got some other things to do today though so I'll just get out of your hair and not bother you anymore-"

It was at that point that my too-fast-to-be-power-walking pace took me to the doors, and I was reaching out for them when the rippling wavefront of something moving quite fast indeed reached me. The saloon doors were already exploding open when I reacted, whoever was behind them performing the action with a hell of a lot more force than I had done, and I thanked myself for all of the _exceedingly painful_ training I'd put myself through in the name of learning this particular skill.

 **'Paper Art!'**

A quick flash of blue enabled my movement as I bent backwards at the waist almost ninety degrees, segueing into a backwards bridge that took me below the level of the doors as they burst open.

Paper Arts was a mostly-reactive skill that I'd beaten into my own head with a great deal of pain and effort, alongside quite a bit of help from Totomaru and some unwitting assistance from Gajeel when he got particularly pissed. Sol had actually been an odd source of advice for it too, seeing as the guy was somehow made of dirt and therefore was flexible as all hell.

I could have done without seeing him literally look out from between his own legs while standing, though. That was just fucking creepy.

In any case, it was really just some ridiculous flexibility involving the minor dislocation of bones in certain places, trained to the point of being subconsciously able to dodge anything I detected coming towards myself.

I didn't have Observation Haki, unfortunately, so that meant I could only detect things like breeze-level incoming wavefronts. Thankfully, in a world like Fairy Tail, that gave me a defence against a whole hell of a lot of things.

In this case, as I rolled to my feet, I found that it had saved me from door-bombardment via Natsu 'Plot Armour' Dragneel himself.

"I'm home, everyone!" He declared, drawing the attention that had still been on me ( _far too fucking much_ ) away in an instant as everybody either sighed or braced as if expecting an impact. "Hey, Mira, I can pay for lunch!"

"I'm glad to hear it, Natsu." The white-haired barmaid and S-Class Mage replied. "I'll get started on it."

"Thanks!" Natsu declared, looking like he was already drooling in anticipation.

"Miiiraaaa! I'm hungry!" A high-pitched voice called, drifting through the open door and growing louder. "I ran out of fish on the way back!"

Happy the Exceed - because really, he did not fucking look like a cat, who the fuck did they think they were fooling? - floated listlessly through the air behind his partner, his blue fur and white wings both looking...oddly fluffy. Mirajane simply called over her shoulder from behind the bar. "Don't worry, Happy, I'll get you some tuna!"

The Exceed began to drool as well, quickly winging his way to an empty bench before turning around. "Hey, Natsu, c'mon!"

"I'm coming, Happy!" Natsu laughed, quickly stepping forwards - but as he did, he paused, turning and looking _right_ at where I was standing just beyond the reach of the opened doors' swing.

My stomach fucking _dropped._

There was a pause, as eyes the same black as coal at the bottom of a mineshaft locked onto my own blue.

Meeting Jose's eyes was like staring into an abyss. Meeting Erza's was like looking up at a mountain. Meeting Loki's eyes hadn't been such an experience because of the adrenaline, but there had been _weight_ there.

Meeting the eyes of Natsu Dragneel was the most terrifying fucking thing that had happened to me thus far.

There was a reason that this apparent teenager was the lever who moved the world. In the anime, it had been Hiro Mashima's (occasionally exasperating) will. Here?

Here, I could see everything I needed to in his eyes as he examined me, and I wondered one simple thing.

How the fuck did _anyone_ ever want to fight him after seeing that look?

My heart felt like it came within an inch of flatlining before the look that had pinned me in place like a butterfly on a cork board vanished mid-blink. Replacing it were a pair of normal, if fairly dark, eyes, warm and curious like the childish person to whom they belonged.

Or, so I'd thought before.

I'd never make that mistake again.

"Oh, hey!" The Dragon Slayer greeted me. "You're new…" He perked up. "Oh, hey, are you a new Guild member?" He perked up even more, grinning widely and showing teeth that were far too sharp to be in a human mouth. _"Can I fight y-"_

That was as far as he got before a wooden staff with a pink smiley face on it smacked down on the back of his head. As Natsu cried out and grabbed the back of his abused skull, Makarov's arm retracted back to its usual length with staff in hand, as his other arm lowered his tankard from where he'd taken a swig. "Natsu, don't bother the kid." He ordered. "He was just dropping something off; he's heading off now." He turned, just a bit, and looked at me from the shadows of his jester's hat. _"Right?"_

I met his eyes - and in that moment, I got a message as clearly as if he'd spoken it himself.

 _'Fly, you fool.'_

I took it. I was blazing blue and gone out of the door, halfway out of Magnolia, before Natsu had finished turning back to his Guild Master.

That was the place everyone wanted to be a part of?

Suddenly, I felt like rescuing Totomaru was far better luck than I'd have ever thought.

* * *

 _"Flowers that Bloom in the Rain."_

 _5 Months till Guild War._

"Oi, Newbie!"

I sighed. "Gajeel, I've been here for _seven months_. I'm not new."

The Iron Dragon Slayer raised one brow, the rivets driven into the skin there rising with it. "Huh? What was that?" He raised one hand to over-exaggeratedly cup his ear. "I thought you said something, but I must've heard ya wrong - _newbie._ "

Despite being one of the six most recognisable figures in the entirety of the Phantom Lord Guild, and despite having been a member for the better part of a year, Gajeel still refused to call me anything but 'newbie'. He _knew_ it pissed me off, and it gave him his kicks that there wasn't a single fucking thing I could do about it.

Sadistic bastard.

I turned from where I was about to head out of the main doors for the Oak Town Guild Hall. "What do you want, Gajeel? I was just about to head home for the day."

He grunted. "Go ask Juvia if she wants to do a mission later this week."

I raised an eyebrow, suppressing a sigh. "Can't you go ask her yourself? She should be around here somewhere…" I knew that, despite my best efforts, I was almost definitely going to be doing what Gajeel asked anyway - but still, I had my pride. I had to at least give my best effort before folding.

"Nah, she ain't been here all day." He denied. "And besides, you can get to her house the quickest." He paused to punch out a Mage carrying a full flagon of something that was probably beer, than caught the flagon and took a chug from it. No one commented. "Plus, it's really far out of my way and I can't be bothered today."

Well, he wasn't wrong. Despite Jose accepting her into the Guild, Juvia still lived outside the city. It was a testament to her power as a Mage that wherever she walked, the rain would inevitably follow no matter the surrounding weather conditions...but it was a depressing one. She had found acceptance in Phantom Lord, and yet she remained isolated because people kept complaining about the fact that it was always raining on them when she lived near others.

Just thinking about it darkened my mood. Nobody should have to live a life like that.

Ever since my visit to Fairy Tail the mere idea of the Guild War had fucking terrified me. Yet, for Juvia's sake, it felt like it couldn't come quickly enough.

"Fine, I'll go ask her." I decided. "But only because you made such a compelling argument."

Gajeel snorted, then walked over the Mage he'd punched out to go and throw some group off their bench and drink in peace.

It wasn't like anyone was going to stop him.

I knew that from experience, since I'd seen more of Gajeel than I honestly expected to. It had become an oddly frequent thing for him to ask me to do something and then give me a reason why, I'd give a half-hearted counter-argument, then he'd snort and I'd just go and do what he'd asked. It was a weird routine we'd fallen into, but I wasn't gonna break it. _Nobody_ but _nobody_ ignored Gajeel in Phantom Lord. He was like our Guild's Erza, only more…

I watched as the Dragon Slayer reached underneath a crowded bench with one hand, lifted the entire thing people and all, then shook it until they'd all flown off and placed it back down so he could sit in it.

 _...Gajeel._

I shook my head as I turned away, exiting the Guild via the oversized front doors and scanning the sky for a moment. It only took that long to identify where the downpour on the outskirts of town was, and I crouched as blue magic flared around me.

 **"Moonwalk."**

Launching myself into the sky, I allowed a grin to creep over my face, growing wider with every step I placed on the immaterial air below. Magic was a beautiful thing.

-o-

By the time I set down in front of Juvia's small, one-storey cottage outside Oak Town, I was quite thoroughly soaked. Running through the rain without anything waterproof on was probably _not_ the most intelligent decision I'd ever made but... _eh_. I'd had worse done to me than being soaked.

I walked up the simple wooden door, rapping my knuckles against it. "Hey, Juvia? It's David!"

I waited for three minutes for a response. Nothing. Knocking again, this time hard enough to jostle the hinges slightly, yielded nothing more than two minutes of silence.

Maybe she'd gone out for the today…? No, that didn't make any sense. It wouldn't be raining here if she was somewhere else. So, maybe she was asleep? Or busy doing something? Those would make the most sense, it wasn't like there was much light through the clouds to make sleeping difficult…

I'd knock one more time, I decided. I followed through with as much force as I could apply without actually destroying the door, hearing the wood and metal that composed the portal creaking in protest and feeling the protest in my own knuckles.

Still, nothing.

Yeah, either she was asleep, or…

Juvia was an S-Class Mage. She was among the strongest of the Element Four, and I damn well knew she would kick my ass to the moon and back. Yet, the complete lack of response still made me uneasy. She was probably asleep - but, if something was _seriously wrong…_

I'd just check to see if she was sleeping in there. Just to put myself at ease; a quick check and then I'd go.

Pressing my ear to the door, I slowed my breathing and listened closely for a sound beyond the pitter-patter of the rain. At first, I got nothing for the efforts - just the continuous tapping of heaven's tears. Then, after a long moment, I made out a noise of some kind - soft and almost silent, but there.

Not that that helped me figure out _what the fuck it was._

She must be doing something private in there. There was no need for me to be prying into Juvia's business; I'd just be on my way and I'd come back later.

That was what I had decided to do - _before_ the pained wail that emanated from beyond the door, anyway. Muffled by the door, by the rain, by distance and by something else too, but it was still an unmistakable cry.

I had gone blue and _through_ the door before the echoes faded. The component splinters and flinders of the portal were still falling as I searched every room in the house in under five seconds, finding nothing in the tiny kitchen, living, bathroom or cupboard areas. Then I burst through the last door, which was closed - and, I later realised, locked from the inside - and found Juvia.

Not under attack; there was no one else in the room. Not wounded...if that was even _possible_ for someone with a body made of water.

No. There was no battle to fight. Just Juvia, a soaked pillow in her arms, her eyes rimmed with red, tears still falling down her cheeks.

We were both frozen there for a long moment. I was still crackling with Magic, the debris of the doors I'd broken through falling slowly from my form and light cascading and reflecting oddly off the water I was still covered in. Juvia was still holding her pillow close, her face having apparently jerked up from where she'd been stifling her crying with the cushion.

Seeing Juvia - Juvia who could wipe our Guild Hall out of existence in one or two attacks if she really wanted, Juvia whose expression never changed from its stoic, emotionless mask of porcelain skin, Juvia who I'd heard speak maybe twenty words in seven months - _crying_ , was enough to stop my thought process in its tracks.

I had no words to say. I reached for some, but it was hesitant because _I didn't know if I should speak_. Which was probably for the best, because the words wouldn't come anyway.

The silence between us was broken only by the patter of the rain - and then, Juvia spoke.

-o-

 _Juvia's POV_

Juvia Lockser's average day wasn't all that different from anyone else's.

She went to the Guild in the morning, occasionally took a job that might take a few hours of the day, then returned quietly to her home without ever announcing her presence. Some days no one realised she'd come in at all, until they walked outside and cursed at the downpour they found there.

Hers was a quiet life, average in most ways on the surface - but behind closed doors... _that_ was where things took a turn.

All her life, Juvia had been subjected to one form of rejection or another. First, from her family; the parents who gave up on her young, and _truly_ abandoned her at the age of sixteen. Then growing up, as her Magic - strong even then - caused a massive divide between herself and the other children. Hers had been an adolescence of loneliness and isolation, the constant cry of "You're too gloomy!" ringing in her ears as she was left ever more alone.

She had made one, final attempt to break the shell she was growing in her teenage years. She reached out to anyone and everyone, desperate for a connection, for a friend, for someone who would clasp the hand she stretched out…

Yet, the result never changed.

"It's the rain.", "You're not pretty enough.", "Stop being so gloomy."

She'd tried dating during that time...but that was, if anything, worse. Her looks landed her a few dates, but they never lasted long. Her personality, it seemed, drove them off if the rain didn't do it first. In fact, she couldn't remember a time when she'd gotten past a first date.

"I changed my mind.", "This wasn't a good idea.", "You're too gloomy.", "Sorry, I'm gay."

Admittedly that last one probably wasn't her fault, but it hurt nonetheless.

Phantom Lord was, as far as she could recall, the only time in her life where she had ever been _accepted_. Not for how she looked, but for _who she was._

When Jose, despite everything, had come to her lonely home so far away from anyone else, she had already been amazed. That he had come with no umbrella, no artefact, no spell - and not even a raincoat - was another shock. Then, when he had offered her his hand, and asked if she wanted to join his Guild…

She knew then, that Jose had seen something no one ever had. Something in her that nobody else had ever done.

She took his hand without a second thought.

In Phantom Lord itself, she had found another person who became an important part of her life. Gajeel Redfox, crude, blunt and occasionally cruel as he could be, was still another who accepted her. He couldn't care less about her flaws; he just treated her the same way he treated everyone else, if not with a bit more respect.

He was, even if neither of them ever said it, a precious friend whom Juvia could never replace.

Yet despite those two priceless acts of acceptance, the years of isolation and rejection had left scars which refused to heal.

She had decided to stay home today, her dreams having stirred up old memories that sapped any urge she may have had to go to the Guild or work. The downward spiral that claimed her dragged her down to her bed and chained her there, working to expel the fugue which filled so she would be worn out enough to don her usual mask later on…

Until a man, soaked to the bone and alight with blue lightning, exploded through her bedroom door like a lightning bolt in the form of a man.

It had been a while, since she had last seen the user of Speed Magic. She knew he was friends with Totomaru, that he had been since months earlier when they'd both crashed into the Guild Hall half-dead, but beyond that she knew nothing of him.

Yet here he was, standing in her bedroom covered in cascading light, bearing witness to her weakest moment.

The utterly dumbfounded expression on his face was to be expected, Juvia supposed. She never showed her emotions at the Guild, so seeing her emoting at all would be a shock. This state she was in...undoubtedly, it was as big a surprise as he could have received.

It wasn't like he knew her any better than all the others.

"What are you doing here?" She asked, hating the weakness of her own voice from the damage she'd done to her throat. She hated the weakness her emotional state brought upon it more.

The Mage - David, she thought his name was - was silent for a long moment. When his reply came, it was tinged with anxiety. "G-Gajeel wanted me to...uh…" He trailed off, wincing. "Y'know what, I can come back later…"

Juvia nodded. She'd rather not hear that voice of hers again until she had rested her throat.

David turned to head out of the room, his Magic dying away until it was only his blue eyes that carried the light...then he stopped. He turned to look at her, seeming to debate something with himself. "Juvia...are you going to be alright?"

Was she?

Juvia honestly didn't have an answer to offer up. Normally, she would be fine - letting her emotions run free from time to time helped to keep herself tired, to keep everything as gray and washed out as the world around her inevitably became. Now, though?

 _Someone had seen her._

This was something she'd never experienced before. Another person, seeing her at the lowest she could get. She hadn't the slightest idea of what to say. Would he tell other people? Did he feel sorry for her? Was he trying to place himself in her shoes, and if so could he ever manage it?

"Juvia...doesn't know…"

The urge was still there. The urge to reach out and ask for help, to extend the hand in hope that it would be clasped, to uncork the bottle into which she forced everything that wouldn't fit the image of Juvia Lockser, S-Class Mage of the Element Four and remove the leaden weight from her chest.

Yet with the urge, there was the fear. The fear of rejection that was a part of her, now, fated to remain there forever.

Perhaps it was the state she was in at the moment, but she couldn't help thinking...Well.

What was another rejection?

"Juvia...needs you to listen." She began, and the Mage turned fully to her. He searched the room for a moment, then grabbed a seat tucked away against the wall, dragging it over to sit on beside her bed.

"Alright."

Juvia took a deep breath, feeling the churning cauldron that she had lived with for so long growing more restless as she began to speak. "All her life, Juvia has been alone. From the time she was a small child, up until she joined Phantom Lord, each year of Juvia's life has only been filled to the brim with sadness and rejection." She could feel herself shaking, her grip on her pillow tightening to the point where she could feel her own arms pressing against her chest.

"Juvia doesn't understand it. She has done _everything_ that she can to try to be accepted by people, but they still reject her! No matter the situation, no matter the time, no matter the circumstances - in all of Juvia's life, the result has always been the same! REJECTION!" The tears had come again - the salt water a mocking reminder, a hated homage to the rain that dogged her steps and drowned her in its grey depths.

 _God, she just hated it so much._

"Everyone has rejected Juvia! Even Juvia's own parents hated her!" She looked up, glaring through the hated tears at the blurry blond figured before her. "Why?" She half-demanded, half-begged. "Why is Juvia here?! Why does she exist, if all she shall ever be is a flower turned grey in the rain?! _Why am I alive, if the entire world will reject me being here?!"_

With that final question, what remained of Juvia's composure finally failed and she broke down into hysterical sobs. That was it. Her fears and her weaknesses poured out to someone she barely knew...which honestly made it easier. Someone who knew almost nothing of her, was easier to tell such things to than anyone she might have known well. Yet, she knew that he had most likely gone already. Not many people would listen to the woes of a stranger, let alone _Juvia_. No - once again, it would be only Juvia herself, crying in the rain-

At least, she thought so. Until something warm and strong abruptly pressed against her back, pushing her forwards into a place of even greater warmth. With her eyes closed and blinded from tears besides, she couldn't understand where it had come from - where the comfort that suddenly arrived had come from.

 _'What...is this?'_

The warmth didn't disappear. It remained in place, seeming to only grow warmer as Juvia's eyes cleared of tears with her blinking. When she could see once more, she found that it was past a muscled shoulder clad in a soaked white t-shirt, an equally soaked head of hair and beanie pressed against the side of her head.

She was...being hugged…?

David had moved from his chair, kneeling on the ground and putting his arms around the Water Mage as she cried. The warmth of the embrace was something that Juvia could never remember knowing; in all her memory, no one had held her as close as the Speed Mage was doing.

The warmth...flooded her, driving back the cold and the grey, bringing her life she hadn't felt she was missing. Her heart began to beat more quickly, blood rushing through her veins and to her cheeks, which flushed a bright red from something she didn't quite understand. _'So this is...what a hug feels like…?'_

"I don't have an answer for you."

Juvia started. She had felt the words as much as she heard them, like the strumming of a bass guitar that traveled through the pillow between them.

Part of her now cursed that pillow as the devil himself.

"You asked me why you're alive and...well, I don't have an answer for you."

Juvia _stared_ at what she could see of the Speed Mage as he _chuckled_ , as if there was something funny about his answer. "Hell, I can't even answer that question for myself. I don't know what my purpose in this world is, or why I got the chance to keep on living…"

His grip tightened, Juvia flushing even brighter as she felt the rock-like musculature pressed against her arms even as the warmth of the embrace relaxed her. "I can't tell you why so much has happened to you, but...I _do_ know one thing."

"I know that someone like you - someone as amazing, as powerful, as beautiful as you - doesn't deserve what life has done to you. What stupid, _stupid_ people have done to you because they got fucking jealous of what they saw in you. All of that suffering...you never deserved _any_ of that."

Juvia felt tears in her eyes again - but, for some reason...she didn't hate the sensation this time.

The stinging of the salt felt... _cleansing._

"Juvia, I'll promise you this here and now." David told her. "No matter what happens in the future...I will never reject you. No matter what either of us does or what happens to us, no matter what changes...I will _always_ accept Juvia Lockser."

Juvia felt her heartstrings resonate with the Mage's voice, with the promise it carried. She promptly ripped the pillow from between them, freeing her arms and throwing them around the blond as she fell forward onto him, almost knocking him over as she barely compensated for the extra weight of her hug.

Tears poured from her face and sobs passed from her lips...but unlike all the tears she had shed and the cries she had loosed in so many years…

This felt right.

…

 _Very right~…_

-o-

 _Juvia Vision™_

 _Juvia was but a lost maiden, abandoned throughout her life. Each day was a struggle to keep herself from falling into an abyss of which she would never return from._

 _Today was different. It was a time to release her emotions and wallow in her own self suffering. A time reserved for her, and her alone._

 _But just as her suffering had reached it's peak, a savior had arrived!_

 _Like a handsome prince, galloping in at the perfect moment._

 _At first, Juvia rejected him. "Why are you here?! Leave me be at once!"_

 _But he did not falter, diving into the abyss where Juvia had fallen! With but a single hug, he had pulled her out of the torrent of her own fear! Without asking for anything in return, he had offered Juvia unconditional support and affection._

 _It was only now that Juvia noticed how…dashing he looked. Sun-kissed blond hair loosely dropping from the confines of his beanie, deep sky blue eyes that a girl could get lost in for all eternity._

 _And from what she was feeling in their embrace, his figure was to die for~_

 _Caring, kind, loving, and handsome...Juvia felt sure she had once dreamed of a man like this to sweep her from her feet and carry her away from the rain, to a place where it could never follow._

 _For the first time in her life, Juvia felt free from her own burdens. Like the oppressive force of the rain that clung to her had suddenly let go, and was replaced with the sweet, warm embrace of David._

 _"Princess, are you feeling better now?"_

 _Juvia didn't need to un-bury her head from his shoulder to know that he had caring smile on his face._

 _That smile… It filled her with hope. He was like an angel sent from heaven to save her._

 _Juvia simply held him tighter, not wanting the moment to end._

 _"Very well, Princess. I shall stay with you then."_

 _She was content, her life had almost led up to this moment it seemed. Juvia was not afraid for the future, for David would always be here for her._

 _Her very own little slice of heaven…_

 _Her...David-sama…_

 _-o-_

David's POV

Bent almost backwards beneath the weight of a softly crying Juvia Lockser, hearing the patter of rain on the window die off and a warm _rightness_ that I had never felt before glowing in my chest, I felt like this was going to have consequences.

Where her head was resting on my shoulder, her tight embrace keeping her locked in place, Juvia let out a soft sigh and two, simple words. _"David-sama…"_

And as I continued to hold her close, I began to cry too.

In mourning for the shattered plot laying at my feet, that is.

Definitely not for any other reason.


	3. Accending

**Year X784**

* * *

 _The following is a collection of short stories showing significant events happening during the time between six months after David joining Phantom Lord and the beginning of the Guild War with Fairy Tail._

* * *

" _I have made a tactical error."_

 _5 Months 'Till Guild War_

Sometimes, I hate my inability to mind my own business.

Generally, prying into people's private lives isn't smiled upon; I could easily not have gone charging into Juvia's house, I could have simply _not gotten involved_ in events I didn't have a clue were occurring. Thinking back to yesterday, I _should_ have just a left a note - or even better, wandered off and tried coming back again at a later time.

My visit to Juvia's house ought to have been a simple task - but of course, the world _had_ to screw up the careful plan I had crafted to prevent disaster…

...Alright, yeah, I'm gonna be honest with myself, I hadn't thought of _anything_ to do in order to head off the Fairy Tail timeline and prevent any of the travesties that were part of it. Still, to be fair, my _very existence_ already left the plotline I knew in pieces - so that was something.

And even if I _had_ a plan, I'm pretty sure I could be forgiven for not expecting to find Juvia in a fit of depression and end up becoming her 'David-sama' when I tried to comfort her.

Just the _thought_ sent a chill up my spine. Man, Gray, how did you _deal_ with this?

Oh, wait - you ignored her advances, causing her to become more and more dependent and needy.

I always hated that about the story - Juvia became more of a comic relief and fanservice character (well...okay, most of the Fairy Tail cast counted as both, but they also had their moments to shine) as the plot progressed, sidelined into an ever-distant love interest rather than a main character.

She'd had the potential to be so much _more_ \- reading Fairy Tail, I wished I could have written her myself, given her the depth her character deserved and the development it had earned-

 _Ah, fuck - I'm actually doing that, aren't I?_

Yeah, being an actual person who cares about the wellbeing of others had its downsides.

Normally, I wouldn't have a problem of _any_ sort of an _incredibly_ attractive girl my age following me around and referring to me as 'David-sama.' As a matter of fact, I would welcome such an occurrence with wide-open arms and proceed to enjoy it to my heart's content.

But, this wasn't _just_ an incredibly attractive girl my age; this was _Juvia Lockser._

I doubted Merriam Webster even had a _word_ for the sheer dedication, the _reverence_ that she showed me...and I could say that for sure following today's events.

It was an... _interesting_ day. Alright, not sugarcoating it at all, it was a day that was both very flattering...and _deeply scarring._

...Mostly scarring.

-o-

I used to hate mornings before arriving in this world; getting up was a chore, and one I'd rather avoid if at all possible. Breakfast, too, was something I tended to avoid - though that was less because I _wanted_ to do the unhealthy thing and skip out on it, and more that I had to get to school.

Now, without the soul-wrecking ruiner of creativity known as 'public high school' was out of my life, my lifestyle became healthier.

Eating three square meals a day helped build weight that became muscle with my training; I slept more thanks to tiring myself out with that same training and with work; and thanks to my generally increasing health, I had more energy in the mornings which made it easier to get up.

Not having to deal with deadlines, too, was a wonderful relief. Well, to be fair there was a lot of stress and deadlines when I was out on missions - but I was getting paid for those. And they were pretty fun, too, most of the time…

When they didn't involve having to cripple someone for life so I could live to see another day, anyway.

I still have nightmares about that…

Anyway - my mornings, while being far superior to the mornings of the past, still weren't that much different. Every day, I'd wake up at around seven - then, I'd take a hot shower to clean up before making breakfast. That meal usually consisted of some kind of juice and a good source of protein, something I could throw together and eat quickly before heading to the guild for a real meal.

That was my routine, and I followed it like clockwork every day…

Which was why, when I woke up on this particular morning, I very quickly knew something was wrong.

The first thing amiss was my room - my _clean_ room.

Now I'm not going to lie - I'm a dude, and usually I have neither the care nor the will to keep my room clean beyond the 'passable' standard. Looking around at my room now (were those fucking _sparkles?!_ ), the place looked like it had been given one hell of a deep-clean...something I'd have _damn well_ remembered doing or paying for.

Jesus Christ, the entire place was _spotless!_

 _Well...fuck. This can mean only one of two things:_

 _One, I've been attacked by an enemy mage - one specializing in Illusion magic. They've put me into a false, dream-like state where my life is ideal...either they want some kind of advantage over me, or they're keeping me sedated._

 _Two, I gained - out of_ absolutely nowhere _\- an irresistible urge to clean my home down to the bedrock...possibly with the aid of some alcohol._

As I wandered out into the corridor outside my room and found that I could see my face in the floor below, _and it was carpet,_ it was clear to me that the first option was the only logical conclusion.

Illusion magic was a tricky thing; in all my time here, I'd only had one encounter with it. The problem that arose when dealing with it was how difficult it was to _notice_ you were in an illusion. A good illusionist could mimic all five senses flawlessly and had an eye for detail that would make Michelangelo jealous, allowing them to recreate the world flawlessly around their target with the poor sap being none the wiser.

However, if you _knew_ you were trapped in an illusion, then their main weakness came into play - they were delicate, and just by flaring their magic the target could break free quite easily.

So, I focussed on the core of my body, drawing magic to stream throughout my being. Taking hold of that magic, I forced it to a halt - holding it in place, damming it, keeping it restrained as best I could. The power was compressed further and further, building higher until I finally released it and a pulse of unadulterated magical power swept out from me.

The illusion that had taken hold of me was promptly-

 _Wait, what?_

Nothing had happened; the world still looked exactly as it had a moment ago.

 _What the Hell?! I should have felt the illusion breaking...or at least_ something!

Still, there had been no effect whatsoever from my magic pulse, and that left me confused. It didn't make _sense!_ Who would break into my home and then _give it a deep-clean?!_ _I_ sure as Hell didn't do this, so what the _fu-_

"David-sama! Juvia felt your magic pulse, are you alright?!"

 _...Of course._

Lo and behold, the consequences of my actions were already coming to fruition.

Standing before me was, of course, Juvia Lockser - though, not the same one I'd become used to seeing in the Phantom Lord guild hall.

It wasn't that her appearance had changed - she was still wearing her favoured navy-blue outfit, though she'd taken her hat off, and she was still as breathtaking as ever .

But her demeanour - _that_ had changed drastically.

Typically, Juvia's face was blank - void of emotion. But now, that stoney visage had softened and become awash with emotions. Surprise, concern, a little fear - things I had never seen in her expressions before.

Of course, this was largely processed in the back of my mind, because the rest of me was busy with the all-important question of -

 _WHY HAD SHE BURST IN FROM MY BATHROOM?!_

" _Juvia?!_ What the hell are you doing here?!"

"A-ah…" The rain woman shifted a bit where she was standing, nervously glancing from side to side. "Juvia was just wondering what happened...David-sama suddenly erupted with magic so I had to see if he was alright…"

I shook my head, waving my hands from side to side in front of me in rather flat X-shape. "No no no, not 'what are you doing in my room right now', rather, _what are you doing in my bathroom?!"_ I wouldn't normally yell at a girl like this, but I was ever-so-slightly losing my shit.

Juvia shrunk back, disappearing a little around the doorway as her expression fell. "D-David-sama is angry…?"

A wave of vicious guilt, like I had just drop-kicked a puppy in front of an orphanage, hit me in the gut and I reversed quickly. "N-no! I'm not mad, I'm just kinda shocked that - I mean, I'm really surprised you're - I'm just…"

 _Smooth, David. Do you want to try that sentence another couple dozen times?_

I sighed, getting my voice back under control. "I'm just wondering what you're doing here. I'm not mad, _please_ don't cry or anything…"

I blinked - and by the time my eyes were fully open once more, Juvia was sporting a smile bright enough to light up the room as she bounced back in less time than I could quite process. "Oh! Juvia was just returning your gift of kindness...is that okay, David-sama?"

No, it was most definitely _not_ okay. Breaking into my house and giving it a deep cleaning was _right up there_ on the 'list of things that are _not okay'_. But of course, my dumb ass just replied "Y-yeah, that's fine. Just…warn me first, will you?"

The rain woman nodded, then opened her mouth as if to say something else - until her eyes abruptly shifted away from my face, and a _glowing_ crimson blush spread from her cheeks to the rest of her face. "David-sama...so daring~"

Looking down, I found the cause of Juvia's fixation. Most of the time, I either wore minimal clothing to bed or just slept in my underwear. Last night I'd done the latter - and so, I was exposing my physique to the lustful eyes of -

 _Dear God, Juvia's personality is contagious._

I valiantly fought down a blush of my own. "J-just let me get dressed!" I told her, retreating toward my bedroom. "And get out of my bathroom!"

"As David-sama wishes."

I couldn't get across the living area and into my bedroom with its nice, easily closed door anywhere near quick enough - and I could feel Juvia's eyes on me the entire way.

Once I closed the door behind me, I shuddered at the cold shiver running down my spine.

-o-

After dressing swiftly, I left my room to perform a quick inspection of the areas I hadn't got to yet. As I'd suspected, the rest of my house had received the same treatment. Everywhere, from the living room to the kitchen, was spotless and gleaming - I couldn't find a single speck of dust anywhere.

And speaking of the kitchen, the room was emitting an absolutely delicious aroma. Following it, I was understandably surprised to find a spread of bacon, eggs, hash browns and orange juice laid out on my table.

Apparently, Juvia had decided that 'repaying my kindness' included cleaning my house _and_ cooking me breakfast?

Even with the invasion of my privacy, I couldn't summon any complaints.

"Juvia didn't know what David-sama would like to eat for breakfast…" The blunette told me, having been standing by the stove when I entered the kitchen. "So, she made something simple." Fidgeting again, she turned away a little, speaking barely loud enough to hear. "Juvia would make a good housewife…"

...Yeah, I'm going to make the correct choice and just forget I ever heard that. "Juvia, you know you don't have to cook me breakfast and...do all this, right?" I asked, gesturing to the house in general. "I mean, I appreciate it, but you don't need to-"

"NO!"

I almost flinched back as Juvia suddenly whirled around once again, her eyes alight with such a shining fervor I had to look away lest I be blinded.

"Nobody in Juvia's life had ever shown her the same kindness and acceptance that David-sama did!" She declared. "David-sama saw all of Juvia's flaws and weakness, yet David-sama still accepted her! He said - ' _Juvia, I promise that I won't reject you. Not now, not ever!'_!"

...There was nothing I could say; after all, those were my own words that Juvia had thrown back at me.

"And because of that…" The rain woman continued, "Juvia won't ever leave David-sama's side! Juvia will do anything to make him happy!" There was a momentary pause, before her voice shifted register a little. " _Anything~"_

...I give up.

I'd have better luck convincing Jose not to hate Fairy Tail than I would trying to get out of this situation, and I damn well know it. This is my life now - I'll accept it and move on.

So I sat down, grabbed a fork, and dug into my breakfast - which was just as good as it smelled.

If you can't beat 'em - join 'em.

I paused in my eating as a thought occured. "Hey, Juvia, how did you get into my house anyway? I'm pretty sure I locked the door…"

"Oh, Juvia got in using the water system - she entered through the shower."

Well that made sense, she was made of water after all, so something like entering a home would be a rather trivial -

Waitasecond.

"Juvia...you came in through the shower?"

She nodded. "Yes, Juvia entered through the shower head."

"What if I had been taking a shower when you came in?"

A dazed, dreamy expression spread over Juvia's face, while what was _clearly_ a stream of blood began to leak out of her nose. She muttered something under her breath with a giggle, then drifted off into one of her fantasies, slumping to the ground by the stove with a silly smile on her face.

 _I don't want to know_ anything _about what she's thinking, but I'm_ damn sure _it's not PG-13!_

So, this was the life I had made for myself.

...I really hate me, sometimes.

* * *

" _Guys' Night."_

 _5 Months 'Till Guild War_

"God dammit!" Gajeel yelled, obviously restraining himself from throwing his cards away as he glared at them. "That's bullshit! I just need a nine to win!"

"Gajeel, Blackjack _est un art_!" Sol exclaimed, his hand a solid nineteen. "You must... _saisir chose!"_

"You can't just call and hope for the best," Totomaru spoke up, also with a hand of nineteen. "There's legitimate strategy you need to consider with each move."

"How sorrowful!" Aria bellowed, sobbing as usual as he held his hand of over 21. "To think that the strongest mage in Phantom Lord is so inept at a card game...such happenings fill me with great sadness!"

Gajeel growled, slamming his hands into the table and rising to lean over it a bit. "What was that you wind-bag bastard?!"

Aria didn't get up in response, just crying even harder. "How sad!"

Sitting across the table from them, I sighed. It had been interesting to discover, but funnily enough, despite all the characters in Phantom Lord being depicted as cruel, evil, villainous people for most of their screen time, that was mostly just how they were shown at the time. Gajeel wasn't _always_ a one-track-minded, stone-cold, ruthless person. Rather, he was a real human being…

Though, he _did_ have a mean streak.

The same was true of the rest of the Element Four; they didn't just spend all day hanging out in the shadows of the guild hall being villainous. They had _lives_ \- hence, the situation I found myself in.

Phantom Lord's most powerful mages tended to hang out together - not necessarily because they all got along well from the outset, but because they wanted to get away from the _rest_ of the guild...or, as I knew them, the cannon fodder.

Phantom Lord was a constant squabbling mess of petty power struggles and attempts at establishing dominance, with mages disappearing on odd days and only sometimes re-appearing, while some people established small cliques only for those groups to vanish mysteriously or scatter among others a few days later. Power was a commodity in our guild, one that was in rather short supply - so, if any of us spent any amount of time near that sea of backstabbing, we found sometimes dozens of people approaching us to try and get some leverage or convince us to help them rise on the food chain.

I could really understand why Gajeel treated them all as his personal punching bags.

So, since none of us wanted to deal with that, we found places away from the rest of the guild - and ended up gathering there, spending a significant amount of time together until it was stranger to see one of us alone in the guild than it was to see us hanging out in a group.

And that's why, every Saturday, all of the guys got together at Totomaru's house and played cards. The games ranged from Poker, to Blackjack, to Gajeel getting mad and forcing us all to dog-pile on him to stop him ruining Totomaru's security deposit.

 _Again._

That last one technically wasn't a game, but we played it as often as anything else.

I still had the bruises from the time I convinced him to play 52 card pickup - painful, but so worth it.

These nights weren't all that different from the hangouts back in my old world; after all, differences aside we were still five guys who worked fairly closely in the same place, and some things were universal...or multiversal, as the case may be.

Other than simply playing cards, each of us brought along some food to share (well, I say share - more like we brought some in the hopes we'd get something to eat before Gajeel devoured everything).

But the focus of the evenings was usually indulging in the ancient tradition of guy-talk.

"Did you guys read the latest Sorcerer Weekly?" Totomaru asked, dealing a fresh hand as he did so. "Fairy Tail destroyed another building, apparently."

I glanced down at my cards. Nine and a seven - not the best hand, but I could work with it. "Yea, I saw it. It's a wonder how they have the budget to cover all the damage they cause."

Sol looked up, shrugging. " _Peut-être c'est car_ their popularity? After all, _ils sont vus_ so often...it is no surprise they receive more _requêtes_." The monocled Earth Mage looked at his cards, failing to hide a grin.

Gajeel clicked his teeth. "They only get noticed 'cause they break shit. Phantom actually _finishes_ jobs."

Aria, who always looked kinda ridiculous holding the cards in his massive hands, spoke up. "It's quite sorrowful that you say that Gajeel; after all, didn't destroy an entire street of houses chasing down that dark -"

"Shut your trap, Aria!" Gajeel barked, once more slamming his hands on the table and leaning over, deepening the dents that had been made in the furniture. "I'll beat you to a pulp!"

Totomaru let out a snort of laughter, shaking his head before glancing at me. "David, call or hold?"

"Call." I was promptly tossed a six. "Shit, busted."

"Sol?"

" _Alors, alors, alors_...I will _garder_ my hand."

"Gajeel?"

"Call."

Gajeel was tossed a ten.

"DAMMIT!"

Totomaru stifled a chuckle as the Iron Dragon Slayer slammed his head on the table, then turned to the big man at the table. "Aria?"

"I shall hold."

Totomaru nodded, then showed us his hand - two kings. "Well then, Aria, Sol - either of you beat me?"

Aria burst into tears as he usually did. "I am two short of 21 - I am overcome with such sorrow!"

Sol smiled widely. "Well then, _mon amis_ , it would seem that this _partie_ goes to _moi!"_

I could feel my wallet growing lighter as Sol won the pot. Here's the thing, Sol was pretty damn good at gambling - so, after he'd won a couple of rounds, we'd always call the game quits.

"That's it!" Totomaru exclaimed, throwing his cards down and his hands up. "I'll let him take all my money!"

"It's very sad to say," Aria conceded, "but I will follow Totomaru's lead."

Gajeel just grumbled into the table where his face was still buried, and I threw my cards down as well. "I can't win, he knows the game better than I do."

The Earth Mage grinned. "Well _mon amis_ , it would seem _c'est_ my win. What shall _nous jouons_ next?"

I sighed. "Well, I _would_ say we could eat some of the snacks we brought…" I turned a glare on the shaggy mane of black hair which was most of what I could see of Gajeel at the moment. "But _somebody_ ate them all!"

Gajeel raised his head, belched, then dropped his face back onto the table.

Along the table, a sly grin began to spread across Totomaru's face. "Oh, I have a _wonderful_ little tidbit we could talk about…"

I groaned; I knew what was coming, since he'd already mentioned Sorcerer Weekly earlier.

"If you caught the last Sorcerer Weekly," Totomaru continued, "David managed to snag an exclusive interview. It's worth the read."

Gajeel peeled himself off the table while Sol and Aria moved to stand behind Totomaru, all three looking down at magazine Totomaru had produced while I made a valiant effort to vanish in the couch I was sitting on.

-o-

 **Phantom Lord's 'Blue Blur'**

 **Hello, weekly readers of Sorcerer Weekly; my name is Mai! You may not know me, since I just started working here, but do I have a story for you! Last month, my grandfather sent out a request to the Mage Guilds, and I had the opportunity to interview a Phantom Lord Mage and get the scoop on the action from the man himself!**

 **In this article, I've included what I learned from our interview, as well as an in-depth analysis of the mage!**

 **Name: David Robinson**

 **Occupation: Phantom Lord Mage**

 **Height: 5'11**

 **Weight: ?**

 **Magic: Speed Magic**

 **Moniker: The Blue Blur**

 **From what I learned speaking with him, David has been a Phantom Lord mage for around six months now, having joined at at the direct invitation of Guild Master Jose Porla, one of the Ten Wizard Saints. The story goes that he earned the Master's interest when he saved another Phantom Lord Mage, but David chose not to shed light on the matter.**

 **But I'm sure all you female readers out there are wondering, 'What does this Mage look like?' Well wait no more ladies - included with this article is a picture of David, dressed in his usual mission garb and taken just hours before he began his work!**

 **David obviously likes to keep things simple - something I personally think adds to his charm! His shirts are usually emblazoned with the Phantom Lord emblem, though the colour changes; his black exercise pants with mirrored, white triple lines running down the outside of the legs seem to remain the same though. The thing that never changes would have to be his beanie - nothing particularly eye-catching, just a black beanie that doesn't quite keep his hair concealed...but he's never seen without it.**

 **Beyond his appearance, though, there's the question - 'just what can he do?'. Well, I had the pleasure of seeing David in action during his job in Balsam Village - though the opportunity was rather brief, and taken from afar. According to him he engaged the criminal he was chasing on an empty street, interrupting his attempt to rob Ms Sherria Ami who was visiting Balsam on holiday (see her interview on page three), and promptly launched the man from the village, presumably to ensure the residents' safety.**

 **I didn't see much of the fight after that (though I did see the aftermath - pictures included with this article!), but David came out victorious - and nearly unscathed too! (Though you certainly can't say the same of the other guy!)**

 **To me watching, he was a blazing blue blur, speeding on to victory through the night like a beacon of hope itself.**

 **Brains, Brawn and Looks. Ladies, what more could you ask for? For these reasons, David has been placed at the number nine spot on the list of 'Top Ten Mages You Would Want as Your Boyfriend!'**

 **More about David on Page 14…**

-o-

I could almost feel the grin that slipped its way onto Totomaru's face after he finished reading the article aloud. I knew - just _knew_ \- I was never going to hear the end of this.

"David you sly dog!" The Fire Mage laughed, scowling in mock outrage. "How did you manage to get on that list?!"

I didn't really have a problem with being on that list; I didn't particularly care that Mai had published an article about me in that magazine. It was flattering, to be honest. The only thing that ruined my newfound fame for me was the moniker I had been graced with.

 _Why the FUCK did I have the same moniker as SONIC THE HEDGEHOG?!_

"How sad!" Aria bawled, looking to the heavens with his arms spread wide. "A brand new member of Phantom Lord's elites!"

 _Thank you, Aria, for giving me a way to distract myself from my horrible reality._ "It's not a sad thing you big-mouthed wind bag!"

" _C'est très impressionnant_ though, David." Sol noted. "To think that you could do so much in only _six mois…_ "

"Thanks, Sol - that makes me feel better about it."

I cracked open another drink - one that I'd managed to hide from Gajeel with some quick sleight of hand. Sweet sweet cola, how glad I am that you exist in this world…

"Going straight to number nine's pretty impressive," Totomaru agreed - but I didn't trust his shit-eating grin. "But, thinking about your newfound popularity - what's up with you and Juvia lately? I've heard some pretty _interesting_ things about you two in the guild lately~"

I spat my drink out as I started choking. _You bastard! I thought you were my friend!_

All eyes in the room were on me as I managed to get my breathing back under control, and I felt a cold sweat beading on my brow. "W-well...uh…" I struggled to find the right words to describe the situation I had landed myself in. "I sort of, just...helped her through a tough spot...and she's thanking me?"

Yeah, I didn't even fool _myself_ with that one.

"Tch, yeah right." Gajeel replied, looking distinctly unimpressed. "You got a weird definition of 'thanking' someone if you think it means 'threatening every other girl in Phantom Lord to keep them away from you'."

Sol settled into a deadpan, nodding sagely. "Ah, yes - she stalks you _tout le temps_ because she is 'thanking you'."

"It is very sad to say," Aria chimed in, "but I do not believe that dedicating herself so utterly to you is an appropriate form of thanks."

Totomaru was still grinning, the bastard. "You're a really lucky guy, having someone like her want to get into your -"

"DAMMIT, I GET IT ALRIGHT?!" I threw my hands up, letting out a sigh. "I don't _know_ what the hell got into her, but I have a problem on my hands."

A sudden sensation of creeping, crippling cold came over me as the air around Gajeel seemed to twist and bend in odd ways, sending strange shadows cascading over his face and giving it a sinister cast. " _It ain't gonna be a problem for ya,"_ Gajeel growled, " _unless ya hurt her."_

The Dragon Slayer, who had apparently awakened some long-unknown overprotective side, glared at me with enough force that I was sure my eyes were bruising. "But if ya do... _then you're gonna deal with_ _ **me.**_ "

" _Non non non_ Monsieur Gajeel!" Sol cried. "We must approach Monsieur David's _'problème'_ with a certain... _je ne sais quoi._ A _mademoiselle_ requires a... _gentle_ touch."

Aria wasn't saying much; he was too busy crying what I could only assume were tears of joy.

Before Sol could give me any advice on how to 'woo the fine lady', or Gajeel could threaten me with anatomically improbable bodily harm should I hurt Juvia in any way, or Aria could sweep me up in a tear-filled hug capable of breaking me in two (I have really odd friends…), Totomaru got up and pulled me quickly from the room.

We ended up in the kitchen, where we could hear the others if they talked loudly but should go unheard ourselves.

I didn't think I could be more grateful to anybody than I was to Totomaru at that moment.

"Listen David, I'm going to level with you here." The Fire Mage told me. "Those guys? The advice they give you won't be worth jack shit."

I gave him a _look_. "No shit."

Continuing on in the face of my deadpan, Totomaru waved an imperious arm at me. "Ignore them, David - I need you to give me your undivided attention here, because what I have to say next could very well mean the difference between life and death for all of us."

I normally would have steeled myself in preparation for the grave news or divine wisdom that my friend was about to deliver unto me - but if my time with Phantom Lord had taught me anything, it was to _never_ take Totomaru seriously. He was Phantom Lord's embodiment of comedy relief, and even though he'd earned his place as an S-Class mage, he could be a real jester sometimes.

"You have been gifted," Totomaru began, "nay, _graced_ , with the perfect representation of a man's dream!"

A light began to shine from his eyes, and I wasn't sure if it was Fire Magic or just him. "For the sake of all males across this wide world, David, you mustn't squander this opportunity! You must do everything in your power to make the most of this situation!"

Cast in point…

"Yeah yeah, you would do that you pervert-"

"Oi!"

"-but would you give me some, I don't know, _real advice?_ "

Because dammit - I needed at least some idea of _what I was meant to do._

Totomaru met my eyes, and the slightly goofy expression he'd been wearing turned more serious. "Damn, you really must need advice; you never ask for help."

The Fire Mage took a moment to think, then spoke again. "David, this isn't about what Juvia is doing, regardless of how things might seem. What you need to focus on are the actions _you_ will take.

"I don't know how you feel about her - I'm not _you_ \- but what I _do_ know is that unless you share the same feelings as Juvia, you shouldn't be forced into a relationship with her."

I let out a quiet sigh - if only it was anyone other than Juvia, that would probably be good advice.

"Thanks, but that doesn't help me," I explained. "What's happening is that Juvia has latched on to me as...as a support, some kind of pillar she can lean on. You didn't know it, but she was going through some _seriously_ bad shit in her life before I just happened to catch her at the right time.

"My problem is that I _can't_ just decide that I don't want a relationship with her. That would be really, _really_ bad for her mental health; she'd break down completely...or worse, maybe."

Totomaru raised an eyebrow. "So you _don't_ want a relationship with her?"

"I didn't mean it like that!" I protested. "I love to have a good relationship with Juvia! She's beautiful, she's strong, she has a great personality! I just don't want to feel _forced_ into it because I have to be there or she'll collapse!

"And topping it off, I don't really _know_ her yet - not as a person. We've only spoken in the guild a few times before these last couple of days! She's rushing this, but I want to take the time to know her - I want to know the _real_ Juvia before we do this."

I felt kinda bad about it, but the last but was a lie of sorts - I _did_ know Juvia as a person; Hell, I knew most of the main characters as people… but I couldn't just tell Totomaru that. He might have been the closest friend I had here, but that was a secret I would take to my grave if I could manage it.

Totomaru stared at me for a few moments, then started laughing. "David, you just answered your own question!" He managed between breaths. "You just need to give it a little time before getting together with her. And don't argue it!" He commanded, raising one hand with the palm facing me as I went to speak. "You said it yourself that you'd love to be with her, so don't go back on your word!"

I sighed, feeling a wry grin tug at my lips. I might well have known the answer to my situation all along, but talking about it with someone gave me a peace of mind that I appreciated. "Thanks man."

The Fire Mage waved me off, grinning. "Don't mention it…" His grin widened. "Though if I were you, I'd do it sooner rather than later."

I smiled, and went to answer - but then I _stopped_.

A sensation had come over me - a sense of such profound dread that I didn't dare move a single muscle, such complete terror that I was _sure_ something stood looming over me, some unknown doom, terrible beyond my imaginings. The icy paralysis gripped my heart and mind, freezing my thoughts and turning all emotion to despairing horror, and I knew in my heart of hearts that the world would never be the same again.

" _ **JUVIA WILL NEVER FORGIVE SORCERER WEEKLY! JUVIA CURSES YOU FOR GIVING HER MORE LOVE RIVALS!"**_

"...Later then?" Totomaru asked, shakily.

"Definitely later."

I made my escape from the house quickly after that - Magnolia's supposed to be quite nice this time of year, I think…

* * *

" _The S-Class Trials."_

 _4 Months 'Till Guild War_

I yawned as I dragged myself awake, roused by the repetitive knocking on my front door. "Yeah yeah, I'm coming!"

Honestly, who would be knocking on my door at - what, eight in the morning? Didn't people know that I needed sleep to _function?_ I don't want to be a prick, but I swear to God if I open my door and it's another reporter hoping for an exclusive I am going to _lose my -_

"David? Have you gotten yourself up yet? Or are you going to keep me waiting any longer?"

Oh _fuck me sideways,_ that was _Jose!_

I moved from my bed to my front door in approximately two seconds flat and flung the portal open to find my Guild Master standing before me in full Wizard Saint regalia.

It was the outfit he had worn in the Phantom Lord arc; a blue coat, closed on the right side of his chest by a belt that went over his shoulder and linked into the belt circling his waist, the buckle in the shape of Phantom Lord's emblem. The coat had wide golden stripes that ran down from the high collar, which sported a large pair of rings hanging from the front, to the cuffs - with other golden highlights tracing the fold of the coat down his front and dropping below his waist on either side.

Acting as the clasp for his coat's collar was his Wizard Saint medallion, shining in the morning sun.

He levelled a smile at me. "Well, it seems that you _can_ move quickly when properly motivated."

I kept my face neutral, but internally I was panicking - as far as I knew, Jose didn't have any reason to be here, and I was trying desperately to think of what might have changed that. "Uh - yeah. Would you like to come in? I can get you something to drink if -"

Jose raised one slender hand, stopping me cold. "No no, that won't be necessary. I have merely come here to inform you of events to come, and events which have already come to pass."

I blinked. "Excuse me master, but that's...kinda cryptic…"

Jose let out a soft chuckle. "Indeed - but it added a strong element of drama, no?"

I gave him my best deadpan. Why did everyone in Phantom Lord - including our _fucking_ Guild Master - have to be such drama queens?

Then again, I couldn't really talk - I'd done quite a bit of acting during my time in high school. And I'd indulged in my own dramatics more than a bit since entering this world…

"That it did, Master."

"That's my boy." Jose grinned. "Anyway, I came here today not only to tell you something, but to get some information from you as well. Tell me, do you know how Phantom Lord chooses its S-Class mages?"

I...had no idea how that worked. I know that in Fairy Tail they have their mages run through a set of ordeals and trials as tests that push the candidates to their limits, making a huge showing of it. But Phantom Lord? I had no idea how they did things.

"I have no idea." I admitted. "Do you just...pick out the mages that aren't cannon fodder and test them?"

"No, we -" Jose cut himself off in mid-sentence, giving me a slightly astonished look. "...Actually, that's not very far off from what we do…"

Figures.

"Still, allow me to provide more detail." Jose cleared his throat. "As you have said, I do happen to pick out mages who are not 'cannon fodder' for the position of S-Class. You know that there are a limited number of S-Class mages in my guild - well, there is a good reason for that.

"You see, the vast majority of Phantom Lord's guild members lack the essential trait which makes an S-Class mage - _drive._ They find a notch on the ladder that they're comfortable with and then can't find it in themselves to grow any stronger, content with the petty authority they gain over the other members.

"But you?" Jose continued, gesturing to me. "So far, you have constantly surpassed my expectations. You possess a powerful will, exhibited by your absolute refusal to accept weakness. You have a nigh- _religious_ drive to become stronger, never accepting a limit but rather pushing past it and climbing for new heights.

"You may not realize it, but if you recall the dark mage Loki whom you defeated? That man was regarded as an S-Class criminal, capable of destroying entire villages alone. The speed and scale of his Wood-Make magic was nearly unmatched, and yet you defeated him without much difficulty."

Fuck me sideways, Loki was _S-Class?!_ I thought he was just a filler villain!

"And this is without mentioning your popularity," Jose noted. "I've noticed more and more requests going to Phantom Lord since you were recognized in that magazine."

I blinked. "You read Sorcerer Weekly?"

Jose coughed into his hand, turning away with a shifty expression. "I read it for the advertisements…"

 _Sure you did…_

I shook my head. "Where are you going with this, master?"

Jose turned back to me, a devilish grin spreading across his face. "David Robinson, acting with the power vested in me by my title as Guild Master of the Phantom Lord Guild, I would like to present you with the opportunity to become an S-Class mage of Phantom Lord."

...Huh. I...actually expected this, to be honest. It made sense to me - I stood out among the rest of Phantom Lord, head and shoulders above everyone but Gajeel and the Element Four, who had already accepted me as part of their group.

"I accept!" I declared, slightly giddy with joy. To think - _I_ was going to be an _S-Class mage!_ That would give me the same status as the likes of Juvia and Totomaru!

"I expected nothing less." Jose smiled. "Now, go and take half an hour to prepare yourself, then I will lead you to where the trial will take place."

...What?

"Wait a second - it's gonna happen _now?!"_ I demanded. "I don't have, like, a couple of days to prepare?"

Jose's smile became a smirk. "Of course not; as a mage, one must always adapt to their circumstances and surroundings so that they can face anything at a moment's notice. There will be very few times during your career as a mage when you will have the luxury of time and foreknowledge to prepare for facing an adversary; why should _this_ challenge be any different?"

He shook his head. "I'm not going to _baby_ you, David."

And with that, he turned around. "Clean and dress yourself - you have thirty minutes."

Well...there goes my lie-in, I suppose.

-o-

After I finished my morning routine - albeit much quicker than usual - I met with Jose outside my home. He didn't grace me with any words, opting giving me a silent nod instead.

Reaching out, he placed a hand on my shoulder and I felt a strong tugging sensation in the pit of my stomach. The world around us blurred and changed, and when I looked around we had already been teleported to the middle of a field.

I've got to say, being suddenly teleported was also up there on the 'list of things that are _not okay'_.

I could see the silhouette of Oak Town on the horizon, its taller buildings casting a large shadow on the plains that surrounded the city. It seemed that Jose had brought me to a completely open area.

An _open_ area - but not an _empty_ one.

Grouped together about a hundred feet away from me, give or take a few feet, were all of my friends.

..I should probably phrase that better. All of the _Phantom Lord's S-Class mages_ were there.

Totomaru sent a confident smile my way; the Fire Mage almost radiated warmth and friendliness in the early morning, his presence served to calm my racing nerves a good bit.

Sol idly leaned side to side, in his typical constant swaying motion. He offered me a gentlemanly bow.

Aria - well, he was being _Aria._ Tears spilled out from under his bandage-blindfold like two glistening waterfalls in the early morning light. I'm sure he wanted to say something encouraging to me...but his constant crying was all that I was greeted with.

Some people never change.

Juvia was... _being herself_.

By which I meant she was dressed in _by far_ the _most_ revealing outfit I had ever seen her in. It was a stereotypical cheerleader outfit; a short - and I mean _short_ \- blue and white mini skirt with a matching white short-sleeved sweater, emblazoned with a shining blue 'D' in the middle. In her hands was a large flag pole, and the flag that happened to by flying was-

 _A flag of my face…_

"David-sama! Do your best!"

I'm just gonna take that image and send it to the deepest darkest corners of my mind. And suppress all thoughts about it. ALL OF THEM.

Gajeel?

Well he was out cold on the ground, snoring away. I don't think they even woke him up when they brought him here…

Jose cleared his throat, all eyes focusing on him. "We are all gathered here today for one reason and one reason only!" He declared. "To test the limits and strength of a mage who has risen above the masses! This mage has shown us all that he is capable and willing to become S-Class."

He turned to me, a genuine smile crossing his face. "David, we are here to test you, to see if you truly have the strength needed to go beyond, to become S-Class."

I allowed a confident grin to cross my face. "Just tell me what I have to do."

Jose's smile quickly turned into a smirk. "Oh nothing much…

"This will be a simple test of your strength and combat capabilities. All you will be doing is fighting against one of our current S-Class mages."

Oh, _fuck me sideways…_

"Well, I have already picked out who you would be fighting; would the mage in question please step forward?"

 _Please not Juvia. Please not Juvia. PLEASE NOT JUVIA!_

"How sad! It seems that I am going to be forced to fight a close friend. Despite it being to test his own limits, such a conflict fills me with great sorrow!"

 _Thank. GOD._

I had two reasons for not wanting to fight Juvia - like, having an actual _physical aversion_ to fighting Juvia.

One, I couldn't _physically_ beat her. Juvia's magic completely countered my own in every way; her water body would absorb all of my attacks, and there wasn't a single thing in my arsenal that I could use against her.

Two, _it was JUVIA._

The rest of Phantom Lord's S-Class backed up, including Jose. Gajeel was dragged from his sleeping position to a safe distance, and was promptly deposited on the ground.

Aria stood about fifty feet away from me, his long green coat swaying gently in the breeze, and on the surface he seemed exactly as he always did.

His demeanor, though - _that_ was a whole different thing.

His muscles tensed slightly, the wind began to pick up, he assumed a combative stance. I could feel his magical power start to permeate the air as he let it come to the surface.

The air around us began to shimmer and distort, as Aria let more and more of his power out.

Well, I wasn't going to be left behind then.

I allowed myself to let go of the hold I had on my own magical power. Condensed energy began to flow throughout every inch of my body, uncoiling from its resting position and stretching to its full extent. A blazing blue aura surrounded me, the calling card of my Speed Magic.

My magic seeped into the air as well, causing a rather different effect than Aria's. The blades of grass at my feet began to shake rapidly back and forth, my Speed Magic causing the wind around them to pick up as well as the movements of the blades themselves. The ground began to give a slight rumble as the pressure of my magic collided with it.

"Hey, no hard feeling about this, right _Aria?_ " My tone failed to hide the heart-pounding excitement that I was feeling. Ohhh, I was gonna pay this bastard back for all the shit he's put me through.

"None at all, _David._ " Aria said, his tone nearly matching my own.

The tension only escalated more and more the longer we waited.

"On my mark." Jose said, raising his arm like he was about to declare the start of a race.

My teeth ground together in anticipation, my power just _screaming_ to be used.

"3…"

I allowed a vicious grin to grace my face.

"2…"

"Those two idiots are gonna kill each other."

" _Oui, ils sont_."

"1…"

Gajeel let out a massive snore.

"GO!"

-o-

 _Third Person POV_

David didn't waste a second; no sooner had Jose finished pronouncing the word 'go' than he was already in motion, cratering the ground beneath him as he launched with a shout.

" **Shave!"**

A vaguely humanoid blur of hazy blue motion traced a straight line between where David had been and where Aria still stood, where it took on the form of David once more as his speed dropped enough to make him visible, his fist reared back and carrying all the momentum he'd built up for a punch.

But even as the fist came forward, a purple magic circle burst to life beneath his feet, growing from a pinprick to a shape a full metre across - simultaneously, two identical circles appeared either side of the Speed Mage, angled slightly like the upper slopes of a triangle.

Because Aria knew David more than well enough to guess his first move - and there was no deadlier layer of traps in Phantom Lord than Aria.

" **Airspace: Metsu!"**

The magic circles entrapping David vanished as Aria spoke the incantation - in their place, gold and blue streams rose up from the ground, forming a shining cone of magic that subsumed his form.

The Airspace: Metsu - a spell capable of draining a mage's entire magical container in one blow, leaving them unable to use magic and causing more damage the more power the mage themselves possessed. It was a spell that could take out even a Guild Master in an instant, and Aria burst into tears as it went off.

"How sorrowful!" He sobbed. "For you to have come so far, only to fall victim to my Airspace!"

But the S-Class mage couldn't help but feel something was wrong.

Victims of his Metsu should be screaming in agony while the attack ran its course - but there hadn't even been a yelp of surprise from David as the trap was triggered. The Speed Mage should have had his entire magical power supply drained in an instant, but his expression hadn't even changed -

 _What?!_

The space in front of him which was empty of air, the way Aria interpreted the world around him while he was wearing his blindfold, suddenly filled in - from the perspective of the spectators, David's form seemed to flicker and vanish from within the Metsu.

Aria reared back, wondering just what trick of magic the younger mage had picked up that let him substitute himself for an empty space-

Then it hit him like a ton of bricks. _That wasn't magic._

"An after-image?!"

Even as he started scanning around himself for where David had gone, the air behind him was displaced in an instant, a trail leading to a humanoid void in the atmosphere.

"That's right," David told him, reappearing behind the Airspace Mage's back shrouded in flickering blue magic, fists cocked back. "And now you're wide open!"

The giant mage had barely started turning when the Speed Mage launched his next attack. " **Overdrive!"**

The space between the two mages blurred and was suddenly full of what seemed like hundreds of fists striking forward in the same instant, all reaching for their opponent -

And in the face of the incoming barrage, Aria smirked. "Not quite!"

The sound of flesh impacting something other than flesh resounded across the field, and David's onslaught was cut short before it had even really begun. Between the two mages, the fist afterimages vanished, leaving behind only the real fists - stopped in midair, as if they had hit a wall.

"You see David," Aria began, finishing his turn to face the shocked mage, "I know your fighting style. If you do not go straight forward for a frontal assault, you move to your opponent's blind spot; or, in the case of most, their backs."

The Airspace Mage spread his arms out to the sides, as if to embrace an old friend. "And knowing this, I created an Airspace around myself - one that would prevent you from even coming close to me!"

Tears began to stream from beneath his blindfold, and the S-Class mage sobbed his next words. "Do you understand, David?! You can't lay a single finger on me!"

The Speed Mage let out a growl of frustration, then retrieved his fists and vanished in another blur of speed. Seconds later, the rapid-fire sound of multiple impacts rang out to the spectators as all around Aria the air began to distort and ripple, evidence of the invisibly fast blows that were slamming into the defensive Airspace.

Strikes came in from every angle, three hundred and sixty degrees of assault and with strikes even coming in from above.

Not even one got through.

Aria's hands came up, reinforcing the Airspace around himself more and more as David's assault - rather than winding down - just got _fiercer._

The assault came to an end for a moment when David re-appeared, his blurring momentum brought to a halt as he leapt backwards, gaining space then launching his next attack before he even touched the ground.

" **Tempest Kick: X-Scissor!"**

Unseen by most, but not going unnoticed by Aria, twin crescent blades of air erupted from the arc of David's mid-air kicks. True to their namesake, the deadly strikes crossed the distance between the two mages in an instant, while behind them their progenitor kicked at the air once more - finding purchase this time, and sending him rocketing along the same path as his attacks.

Considering the immense speed of the assault, Aria's reaction time was too small to act on as the attacks impacted his Airspace, disrupting the spell by wrecking the careful atmospheric control that Aria's magic worked on.

Immediately following that disruption came David, who turned the area of turbulent atmosphere into his entryway as he passed straight through Aria's shield fist-first and buried his limb in the bigger mage's stomach.

Despite his size, Aria folded around the fist until it looked like his spine might snap, all the air leaving his lungs in an instant before the fist reached full extension and transferred momentum took over.

The Airspace Mage rocketed away from the point of impact with a _bang_ of displaced air, still bent around his middle, knocked for a loop by the strike.

His opponent didn't let him go, instead pushing off in pursuit as soon as he had his feet under him. The Speed Mage caught up with the human projectile before Aria had travelled more than a couple of metres, kicking into the air before re-orienting himself and kicking _up_ , hurtling downwards and flipping forwards to bring both feet down on the airborne mage's torso.

The distance between Aria and the ground vanished in a blink, and the resulting transfer of energy from mage to earth formed a crater wide enough to contain Aria's full arm's reach beneath its unfortunate progenitor, sending clods of dirt and clouds of dust flying into the air - as well as a splash of crimson, coughed up by the Airspace Mage in the moment of impact.

Before the Speed Mage could attack again, Aria's form vanished into the air itself - not with some incredible speed, but by literally melting into the atmosphere and becoming part of it.

He re-appeared barely an instant later directly behind David, his hand raised and palm extended as one of his signature purple magic circles sprung to life in front of the limb.

" **Airspace: Zetsu!"**

The circle immediately began to deploy a constant stream of basketball-sized Airspaces, invisible to the naked eye, which shot forward like bullets as they sought their target.

David turned to face the voice in an instant, and as he did so his eyes began to glow electric blue as magic filled them, blue sparks coruscating along the nerves connecting them to his brain as magical power boosted the capabilities of all three organs beyond any human capacity.

From his perspective, the world slowed to a crawl - and though he couldn't see the Airspaces that were approaching him, with the Six Powers, he could still dodge them.

 _ **Paper Art!**_

With the many-times-enhanced awareness that came from his magic and the flexibility he had trained into himself, David began contorting his body as his feet traced a complicated pattern on the ground, stepping, ducking and twisting around and below every Airspace that came near him.

He couldn't see them - but with the speed of his perceptions, he could feel the distortions they created in the air long before the attacks could strike home and move accordingly.

Of course, that didn't mean the technique was perfect.

David stepped out of the way of one Airspace - but found himself trapped by two, with no way out.

The hyper-compressed bubble of atmosphere touched his chest and detonated instantly. In a parody of his earlier attack on Aria, the explosion of air sent him rocketing down and back, crashing down in the crater formed by Aria's landing.

Then the rest of them arrived.

The resulting series of detonations caused him to go rocketing across and _through_ the ground, digging a trench behind him as the repeated strikes kept overcoming what resistance the field's surface could offer.

And at the head of that ever-growing trench, David gritted his teeth and weathered the assault.

-o-

The second Aria activated Metsu, all the other S-Class mages present (Jose and Gajeel included) had to immediately dog-pile Juvia to stop her from interfering in the test.

Still, even with the combined weight and strength of two powerful mages - one of whom was made of stone half the time - an Iron Dragon Slayer and a _Wizard Saint_ , the rain woman was still giving hell.

"Shit! Somebody watch her legs, she's trying to kick me in the - YYEEEEEEEEEOUUUUUCH!"

"Oi! Watch where you're puttin' your hands, frenchie!"

" _Non non non!_ I cannot stop her!"

Juvia's eyes began to shine with a kind of fury usually reserved for deities of war and parents on results day, the very air around her beginning to stir and writhe as the water in it responded to her, building up to a full-scale tempest in sympathy to a rage none of the people who knew her would ever have expected she could produce, as the Zetsu Airspaces continued to impact David.

" **Juvia will not forgive Aria!** _ **Nobody hurts David-sama!"**_

-o-

Aria stood over the massive mound of dirt that the trench he had dug with his fellow mage ended in, silently contemplating the situation.

' _There's no way that put him down on its own. I know David's fought through stronger attacks than my Zetsu before.'_

Sure enough, the earthen hill chose that moment to violently explode, filling the air with dirt as a shimmering blue form erupted from within it.

David looked a hell of a lot worse than Aria. His shirt had been reduced to scraps of cloth that showcased the bruises which were already forming; his hat had been lost somewhere during the barrage he had weathered; and what parts of him weren't caked in mud had been stained red with the blood from innumerable small cuts and abrasions from stones in the soil.

He was still standing, though - and even though he couldn't see the expression he was making, Aria could hear the glare in his voice when he spoke.

" _That...was my favourite hat."_

If Aria was just about anybody else, he would have been...if not _intimidated_ by the murderous undertone to David's words, then at least cautioned by them. Indeed, he would probably have taken the chance to put his guard up as high as it could go.

But, he was _not_ anybody else - he was _Aria_ , and David had just been beaten down, losing one of his valued possessions in the fight.

Such an event…

Filled Aria…

With…

Great…

 _SORROW!_

"HOW SAD!" He wailed, turning to the sky as great tears streamed down his face. "TO THINK YOU WOULD LOSE SUCH A VALUABLE POSSESSION DURING YOUR TRIAL...SUCH HAPPENINGS FILL ME WITH-"

Then his voice was cut off when something hit his chest with the approximate kinetic energy of an out-of-control freight train.

There was no measurable transition time after the attack; one second Aria was standing, the next he was lying in a perfectly humanoid crater tailored specifically for his resting pleasure, ribs cracked, and everything started tasting of copper.

-o-

"You're going to pay for that you bastard!" David declared, blurring through the distance separating him from his opponent in a second like a comet.

Aria looked up from where he was lying in his crater, raising his arms and coughing out words around droplets of blood.

" **Airspace: Bubble!"**

The air distorted in a sphere around the Airspace Mage for a moment, the only sign of the massive compression that suddenly occurred in a dome over Aria to create a solid shield between him and his opponent. He needed time to get back on his feet and get his thoughts back together, and for that he needed to make sure David couldn't get any-

" **Tempest Kick!"**

 _Closer._

When David kicked this time, what emerged wasn't the same focussed slashes that had pierced Aria's Airspace before; instead, the single perfect edge fractured along its length, losing its cohesiveness - but _not_ its edge.

A cloud of disassociated air-blades passed through Aria's shield like it wasn't even there, ruining the pressure containment and leaving the bubble to burst outward in a wind that levelled the grass around the Airspace Mage - but did nothing to stop the Speed Mage who came to a halt right above Aria.

That same Speed Mage then proceeded to grab Aria by the collar of his coat, twist and put every ounce of the speed and strength he had gained through his months of work to _launch_ the S-Class mage into the sky.

As Aria's form flew up into the great blue yonder, David's eyes never left the green object silhouetted against the atmosphere - instead, he took a pose, his brow furrowed in anger, his teeth clenched and his eyes narrowed.

"Your Airspace is useless!" He declared, loudly enough to be heard by Aria even across the distance and the wind in his ears. "Useless, useless _useless useless_ _ **useless useless uselessuselessuselessuseless!"**_

David's foot impacted the ground with enough force to leave the biggest crater yet produced in the battle, spider-webbing cracks skittering away from the hemispherical indent as the Speed Mage was catapulted into the air amid an explosion of dirt and dust.

The human projectile kept moving faster, the air nothing more than an extra foothold as he caught up with Aria in seconds.

Hanging in the sky directly above the now-falling Airspace Mage, David proceeded to speak once more.

" **REQUIEM!"**

The twinned techniques of Moonwalk and Shave, brothers among the Six Powers, worked in perfect concert as the Speed Mage's foot found purchase in the sky and kicked off it ten times in an instant. The resulting acceleration sent him out of a human eye's ability to process, and kept him at that speed even as his fist extended and found a new home in the Airspace Mage's stomach.

The strike landed just off-centre, adding a spin to Aria's new downward movement that turned the man into a rapidly rotating green rod as he plunged toward the earth below.

Or at least, it did until David ground to a halt, digging his heels into empty space before launching himself back the way he had come just as fast as before and delivering _another_ blow.

Aria was sent hurtling along a new vector, his spin almost stopping completely as the second punch introduced a rotation in the opposite direction, only for him to start flipping heels-over-head when a _third_ blow was delivered to his upper torso.

Again and again David would blur past the Airspace Mage and impart his momentum with a blow fit to topple trees, then find footholds in mid-air and take off again. Each time it was a new angle, a new spin, a new area to strike; to the observers, Aria seemed to be floating in mid-air, his body wracked with constantly changing angles and velocities as an invisible force kept him pinned in the sky with blows that only barely matched each others strength.

Newton's First Law - an object with a constant speed will remain at that speed unless acted upon by an unbalanced force. The changes in angle for David's blows and the insignificant time between each one being delivered created a near-balanced net force on Aria, keeping him in the sky despite having enough imparted momentum in each blow to have bounced him off the ground below and back to twice as high as he was at the time.

The only proof beyond Aria's plight that David was there at all, was a sound - a sound repeated again and again, the repetitions as close together as the blows their progenitor delivered; a sound that, though the individuals gathered there might not recognise it, was so iconic - so _powerful_ \- that to hear it was to instantly bring to mind he who first declared it.

Someone beyond human - someone beyond all limitations. Someone...who could stop **The World.**

" **MUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDA** **MUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDA!"**

The space above Aria - finally free of the punches, caught in the instant before gravity would pull at him, spinning just enough to be facing upward - stopped being empty as David appeared there, a caricature of predator and prey caught in one frozen moment as the two hung motionless amidst the sky.

Then there was a resounding _crack_ as David pushed off the air with both feet and brought his first forward with a final shout. " _ **MUDA!"**_

For the second time in the fight, Aria was bent double around the sheer force of the blow delivered to him - and the fight's newest crater was formed only moments later as the giant mage fell from the sky like a meteorite, his coat flapping about him in the seconds before his impact raised a geyser of soft earth that reached halfway up to where David was beginning to descend.

The Speed Mage hit the ground a few seconds later with a soft _thud_ , stumbling from the burning pain in his legs. The Six Powers always put a strain on the user's body - but overusing them the way David had worsened the harm exponentially, and he could _definitely_ feel it.

The Speed Mage's breathing was a constant cycle of inhale-exhale as his body demanded oxygen - a demand that was hampered by the damage he had taken during Aria's assault, which he felt acutely in his ribs and across his chest.

David nearly dropped to the ground with the combined aching of everything below his neck - but he kept himself upright, focussing not on the pain but on the satisfaction of laying into that big-ass excuse for a -

"HOW! SAD!"

 _...God FUCKING_ _ **DAMMIT!**_

As the dust and earth fell from the air, visibility was restored - unveiling to David and the spectators an Aria who was in far better condition than anyone who had seen the beating he suffered during the Requiem could have expected.

Blood was seeping through his coat and dripping from his hands; his face was beginning to bruise, and there was a lean to his stance that suggested the damage was even more extensive beneath his clothes.

But he was still standing.

"What...the...hell?" David gasped, trying to draw more air even as he voiced his disbelief. "You should have been out for weeks after that! How the _fuck_ are you standing?!"

Instead of replying immediately, Aria began to chuckle - then that chuckle became a laugh, and that laugh become a _howl_ as the large mage through his head back and loosed his mirth.

"I-It fills me with great sorrow to say this," Aria cackled, spitting out a glob of blood, "but your attack was not as effective as you might think.

"Before you even left the ground to follow me, I surrounded my body with a thin shell containing thousands of Airspaces; they impeded every one of your strikes, robbing them of much of their power.

"Still, I'll give you credit," he continued, wiping blood off his chin. "You destroyed the last of my defense about halfway through your assault. An admirable showing, if a futile one."

David didn't respond - he was shaking slightly where he barely stood, fists clenched in a show of defiance but a bone-deep understanding appearing in his eyes.

 _I...lost…_

"Now…" Aria began, bringing his hands up slowly to his face, reaching behind his head for the knot of his blindfold. "Allow me to show you...just how powerful I _truly_ am!"

David grimaced, waiting for Aria to loose the cloth covering his eyes and release the power that he kept sealed behind it, less out of choice and more from the necessity of keeping himself restrained so he didn't destroy everything and anyone around him-

"That will do, Aria - I have reached my decision."

-Only to instead turn towards Jose, whose voice cut across the battlefield in an order that instantly stilled Aria's hands.

"As you say, Master." The mage acquiesced, dropping his hands back to his sides. "It fills me with great sadness to say that I must abstain from your speech, however, as I really must find my bed before I pass out."

And with that, his form wavered like a mirage and disappeared into thin air - nothing like the instant shift of earlier; if that could have been compared to a graceful walk, then Aria's disappearance this time was closer to a drunken stumble.

David took some comfort in that.

Still, most of his attention was pulled to Jose, who was walking forward with as confident and purposeful a stride as a man who had just been soaked to the bone by a protective water mage could muster.

"David, you have impressed me once again." He began, once he was within a few feet. "Driving Aria of the Great Sky to remove the restrictions on his power...such a feat is more than most mages could hope to accomplish."

A small, knowing grin made its way onto the Guild Master's face, and he continued. "Tell me, David - do you know _why_ I had you fight Aria?"

David tried - he honestly, _truly_ tried to repress the resentment he was feeling toward Jose in that moment and keep himself civil.

"B-because I pissed you before, and you're a vindictive _bitch?"_

Alas, as anyone knows, 'trying' is never a guarantee of success.

Still, Jose let the insult slide with a snort of laughter. "Not quite - I chose him as your opponent because he countered your magic in every way."

David would have snorted if he didn't need the oxygen. _Figures._

"Normally, someone with such magic as your own wouldn't be able to land a single finger on Aria, much less harm him." Jose declared. "But through your power and creativity, you managed to fight against those impossible odds! You found your own strength and pushed past everything in your way!"

A wild glee entered the Guild Master's voice and expression, and he spread his arms wide. "You have truly come to know what it means to be a Phantom Lord mage! To push past your limits! To _rise_ above the weak! To pave your own path in life! TO MAKE YOURSELF _THE STRONGEST YOU CAN BE, WITH YOUR OWN TWO HANDS!"_

A joyous, bellowed laughter rang loud enough to be heard back in Oak Town as Jose tilted his head back. "THAT IS WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A PHANTOM LORD MAGE!"

The resulting cheer from the rest of the S-Class mages, with even Gajeel's signature laugh joining the chorus, was damn near deafening.

"David Robinson! Here and now and forevermore, I grant you the title of S-CLASS MAGE!"

-o-

 _David's POV_

As the cheer rolled over me, I looked to the sky, feeling a chaotic mess of emotions run wild within me. A maelstrom of feelings crashed and mixed together, filling me with gratitude, joy, love, a feeling of comradery, and other things I couldn't quite identify.

The surge of unadulterated emotion nearly carried me away, and I felt it sweep through me until I let it all out in one yell.

It was a wordless cry - but it carried more meaning than anything I could have said, a joyous, triumphant sound loud enough to match any other sound that had been made today.

Really...despite being in Phantom Lord, one of the series' antagonists; despite being surrounded by people who I had once thought of as unrepentant villains…

I had never felt more at home in Earthland than I did _right now_.

God, that's gonna make changing the plot even harde-

" _OOF!"_

All the air I'd managed to fill my lungs with left me in a rather undignified rush as a blue missile (affectionately known as Juvia) bowled me over in a hug that sent us both crashing to the ground.

The impact and the lack of oxygen took their toll - but even as black nothingness began to eat away at the edges of my vision, pulling me into a restful sleep -

I _smiled._

* * *

 **Author's Note (With resident typing chimp...I mean, beta reader, Teninshigen)**

 **More like resident white mage…**

 **(Teninshigen) Just remember not to fuck with me and I don't really care what I'm called ;)**

 **Let's be honest, without you, this story would not nearly be a wonderful as it is now. You essentially 'buffed' the entire thing. With words.**

 **(Teninshigen) *Wouldn't be nearly as wonderful.**

 **I hate you sometimes, I really do.**

 **(Teninshigen) :P**

 **Anyway, before you attack me with reviews like "Why is David so strong?", "What's up with the huge power jump?" and "WHY HAVEN'T THEY FUCKED YET?!"...let me explain.**

 **The main reason why I have chosen the format for the last 2 chapters, is to keep the story interesting for you all. Nobody wants to see David going through the day to day events, boring life happenings, and happy peaceful moments. No, you want to see conflict! Character development! AND DIO!**

 **(Teninshigen) That's four explanation points now - three more 'till doomsday, ladies and gentlemen. (I'll be both shocked and amazed if anyone gets that reference.)**

 **So I decided to only showcase the most important events in the year before the guild war. The main reason for the 6 month time skip was to progress the story faster and get to the most interesting parts first.**

 **Anyway, I feel like me and Teninshigen have gotten Juvia's character down to a science. So the interactions between her and David were pretty good, he's going to have a lot of interesting things to deal with in the future.**

 **(Teninshigen) Ness and I have quite a few differences in the way we think - but we have somehow found common ground in the mind of a rather disturbed young woman with severe depression and abandonment issues. Yay…?**

 **For the other characters in Phantom Lord, I decided to go with a more human approach, crafting them into real people. Hence the Guys' Night arc.**

 **(Teninshigen) Ness is the reason I now have a French dictionary stacked on my desk beside my computer. I haven't needed this thing since I finished my exam at the end of the school year, but I had to dig it up to write Sol.**

 **The S-Class trials for Phantom Lord were hard to think of, I was originally going to go with a more Fairy Tail approach, and fight other potential S-Class Phantoms. But that didn't settle with me right. So I went with the simple fight to see how strong they are, and by god did it work well with Phantom Lord.**

 **In case you're wondering how strong David is, I have come to a conclusion.**

 **Enough.**

 **(Teninshigen) Some people would say Son Goku is 'strong enough', but then again, 'strong enough' is pretty damn relative.**

 **David is strong enough to hold his own in the Fairy Tail universe. Key words there, 'Hold his own.'.**

 **(Teninshigen) A point where our philosophies are the same - how strong a character should be at any one point in the story. Even if we don't quite see eye-to-eye on other things...for example, the speed at which pairings should progress .**

 **Against certain opponents, I'll use Racer from Oracion Seis as an example, David would destroy them; his abilities and strengths would give him an incredible advantage over that character.**

 **(Teninshigen) As someone who's playing a rather unhealthy amount of Pokémon Heartgold at the moment, it's all a matter of type advantage. How 'smart ass' counts as a type, I'm not sure, but then again it's thoughts like that which make working with someone in a time-zone five hours behind me worth it :) (written at midnight, after a succession of two-in-the-morning writing sessions. I am clinical proof that you don't need sleep to be a sane, functional human being. Totally. Don't question me. I'LL KILL YOU!)**

 **Against someone like Juvia? He wouldn't stand a chance.**

 **David won't be measured in how much raw strength he has, but rather if the abilities he has gathered can allow him to fight his opponent in the most effective way possible.**

 **Hence why he was able to fight Aria.**

 **Winning fights with ingenuity and creativity, rather than raw power, is what David will be doing.**

 **Though if I throw in a clash of raw strength in here and there, does it really matter? Those are interesting…**

 **(Teninshigen) If anyone out there can manage to write a shonen series fanfiction without** _ **even one**_ **beam struggle or test of raw strength...I'm inclined to think they're doing something wrong. And this is coming from the guy who took one look at magic and designed to science the shit out of it.**

 **Anyway, with that out of the way, let's get onto the reviews!**

* * *

 **Kumbrakarna - The Six Powers have been what I wanted David to have from the start of the story, they are by far my favorite anime fighting style. As for regeneration? That would be good, but the problem with that is if he over uses it. Not only is that boring, it has a downside. Cancer. I'm not gonna regenerate my cells into a state of super magical cancer, so extreme regeneration and a healing factor is out.**

 **(Teninshigen) Of course, there's also the question of where the material for the healing comes from. Either he'd have to stuff himself like the unholy amalgamation of Natsu Dragneel, Monkey D. Luffy and** _ **Kirby**_ **constantly while he used the technique for anything more than a simple cut or bruise, or he would end up cannibalising other parts of his body and thereby screw himself over.**

 **TimeLordLucario - Thank you! This one is much better in my opinion.**

 **Stormer1337 - Yes you are! And Thank you!**

' **Guest', Ch. 2, Jul 29 - You're welcome!**

 **Domea - I'm already the second most popular Oc/Juvia Fic on the site, if you look just in fairy tail. YOUR REVIEWS ONLY SERVE TO GIVE ME STRENGTH! MWHAHAHAHAHA!**

 **Man in black687 - Thanks!**

 **TheEdgiestOfEdgelords - Once you get pulled in, you can't come out. EVER.**

 **(Teninshigen)** _ **Many miles away, in an underground bunker…**_ **/ "Sir! The satellites have detected another one!" /** _ **The high-backed chair set in front of the wall of monitors spins around, revealing Ness.**_ **/ "Send the invitation." He orders, before spinning back to face the monitors once more. /** _ **Each screen bears a different depiction of a certain blunette Water Mage - across the room, there are different screens bearing various types of crosshair over images of an Ice-Make Mage of her acquaintance.**_ **/ "We can always use another soldier for the cause."**

 **Maester Ta - It's even more shattered now. And your wait is over!**

 **(Teninshigen) Almost as shattered as Aria's ribs...or my sleep schedule. Tom-ay-to, tom-ah-to.**

 **Vincentcool72 - Thank you!**

 **Claudiacorvo - It's not common, I'd like to think I'm the first to do it, but I know out there someone has a short little abandoned story that's an OC joining Phantom Lord. I'd like to think I've done it the best so far.**

 **(Teninshigen) I'd damn well hope so; we didn't set out to be anything less than the best, and by God and Ness's Juvia body pillow,** _ **we're gonna make that first page!**_

 **LISTEN HERE YOU THOT!**

 **(Teninshigen) *glances around* Oh, are you talking to me?**

 **You have to get your facts correct! It's** _ **three**_ **body pillows!**

 **(Teninshigen) *deadpan* My most sincere apologies, I'm sure I'll take great care to avoid such a cataclysmic error of judgement in the future.**

* * *

 **My fingers hurt.**

 **(Teninshigen) I feel like I should say something about how you drove me to write an entire 10,000 word chapter in the space of a day, but then again I have programmer fingers, so I don't suffer your petty mortal maladies.**

 **Correct, have mercy on us you ruthless god of typing.**

 **(Teninshigen) Hmph - your God shall forgive your trespass...** _ **this**_ **time.**

 **Thank you.**

 **Reviews would help me guide the story, and help give you what you want to see. (They also spur me on to write much more!)**

 **I love all of you very much, thank you all!**

 **Psst! Btw, go check out 'Music of the Spheres' by Teninshigen!**

 **(Teninshigen) I'll just add my two cents here - Ness has been a great motivator for me, as well as a brilliant sounding board and and all together good friend. You only have to check the update history for Music to realise the effect he's had on my productivity, and I feel like the story comes more alive with his influence than it's ever been while I was working alone. I'm glad to see his work getting the attention I think it deserves, and I hope any of the readers from my story that have wandered over here will be as good to him as they've been to me.**

 **(Teninshigen) That's all from me at the moment -** _ **oyasumi**_ **, one and all, I'mma go pull an Aria and pass out.**

 **Thank you father.**

 **(Teninshigen) Go do your homework son, it's only seven where you are.**


	4. Wonderful Water Woman

**Year X784**

* * *

 _The following is a collection of short stories showing significant events happening during the time between six months after David joining Phantom Lord and the beginning of the Guild War with Fairy Tail._

* * *

" _Livin' La Vida Loca~"_

 _4 Months Till Guild War._

' _Oh god, everything is aching.'_

I'd thought my mornings were bad enough back when I was in school - but those were _nothing_ compared to the widespread agony that composed my post-Aria morning.

I could feel each and every individual bruise that covered me, each throbbing on its own time and joining together in one great orchestra of _pain_ \- a melody added to by the various cuts and abrasions that stung more than throbbed, leaving me fairly sure I now knew what it felt like to run into a cactus at full speed.

Summing it up? If I could manage it, I was never going to do that again.

My anticipation for the day I finally figured out the Iron Body technique couldn't possibly be any higher; the ridiculous amount of stress and injury that would save me in the future beckoned like the pearly gates, and just thinking about it made the aching worse.

Looking for a distraction - and a sense of where I was - I opened my eyes to take a look around.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that I was, in fact, back in my own house. That was a wonderful turn of events considering the alternative was probably the Oaktown Hospital...which, despite being a great place to recover, was still a hospital with all that entailed, so I tried to avoid it.

A quick glance down my body showed that I was fairly mummified in bandages too, which seemed to be doing a good job of soaking up my various cuts judging by the red stains that were on the bandages but not the sheets themselves.

' _I guess lots of little cuts can really add up,'_ I noted, eyeing the surprisingly wide marks.

Still, now that I was awake, I could start dealing with the mess that had been made of me.

Rolling up into a sitting position, which kicked my aches and pains into a new gear, I began to gently remove the bandages from my torso. Each and every wound seemed to sting as they were exposed to the air, but I persevered and eventually managed to unwind the fabric until I had removed the bandages fully.

' _God, Aria really did a number on me, didn't he?'_

Now that I was uncovered, I could see the black-and-purple bruises that ran up to at least my neck and headed down along my arms and, presumably, my legs, leaving me looking like some weird piece of abstract art - the dashes and lines of colour that came from the cuts all over my torso just added to that image.

Swinging my legs out of bed and getting to my feet was _oh_ so much worse than just sitting up, and I damn near fell flat on my face when my knees shook like there was an earthquake going on - but still, I managed to get my balance back and stand relatively straight, leaving me free to close my eyes and concentrate.

My attention turned inward, away from the aches and pains, to my magic. It began to seep into my bones and muscles as I called for it, warm, energizing power uncoiling to fill my body from toe to scalp.

I took in a deep breath that I damn near spat back out again when my ribs screamed, but holding it, I started to impose the fine, iron-clad control I had developed from hours of work on the vibrant energy, bending it my will.

I coaxed the magic towards my skin, in particular towards my various cuts and bruises, subsuming each injury in the warmth and cocooning them. It was a lot more difficult than it sounded; to make sure I was targeting the injuries and _only_ the injuries, I had to guide my Speed Magic to each pain specifically and then shape the magic properly, then move on to the next and all the ones after it - _without_ letting go of the magic that I had already shaped, even as I kept adding more and more injuries to my concentration.

Still, when I had finally mapped out my injured self with glowing, azure magic, I could start on the next step - and, drawing more magic from my container to pump into the daisy-chain of injuries I was concentrating on, I did just that.

I needed every possible iota of the focus I had learned when I was doing this; distraction couldn't be tolerated, control could never be lost, and I couldn't afford to stop halfway or let any one part of the process get away from me or the rest of the spell.

The actual purpose of the spell was to accelerate my body's natural healing process; boosting cell division, blood clotting, the recycling of dead cells, boosting the response time of white blood cells - my magic kicked everything into high gear, accelerating my healing time from weeks to minutes.

But in return, I faced the possibility of utterly devastating consequences in the wake of even a small error.

If I lost my concentration for even a split-second, then my magic could accelerate that process of cell division beyond the rate I wanted and with less precision. It would send _every_ cell capable of division in an area into overdrive, which wouldn't heal injuries, but would just create vast numbers of excess cells, with quite a few of them probably being completely useless.

Basically, I would give myself magical cancer - and then accelerate its progression far beyond any natural cancer.

 _Nobody_ wants magical cancer - me least of all.

It was why I couldn't possibly apply this ability in a fight; the absolute concentration I needed to pull it off would never be possible in a combat situation, and I'd only do myself harm if I tried to half-ass it or be anything less than utterly thorough.

Outside of a combat situation though, it was an utterly invaluable ability.

As magic flowed through my injuries, filling the surrounding cells to the brim with energy and giving them 'Speed', they began to visibly heal. The cuts scabbed over in moments before the skin and muscle beneath started to rejoin, replacing lost material until there wasn't a mark remaining and then recycling the scab for materials before ceasing activity.

The capillaries which had burst or ruptured in impacts, trapping blood beneath the skin and causing the discolouration that characterised a bruise, re-formed themselves and began to carry blood properly again, while other cells drew in the blood that had been lost in the space between my skin and muscles to recycle it for materials - leaving the bruises to rapidly fade from dark to light to my usual skin tone, the swelling dying down as the blood went away.

The aches and stings that had accompanied those injuries vanished alongside the injuries themselves as the nerves carrying the information recognised the lack of any injury and subsided back to their usual levels of activity.

I'd said it before, and I'd say it again - but Goddamn, I _really_ love Speed Magic!

I didn't wait until all my bruises and cuts had finished healing before cutting off the spell - I didn't want to risk holding it on after I had already recovered and giving myself the aforementioned magical super-cancer - but the markers of injury that remained most consisted of fading scabs over the worst of the cuts and slightly yellow-ish discolourations where the worst of the bruising had been.

I let out a relieved sigh as I opened my eyes again, feeling like a weight had been lifted from my shoulders as the aches and pains faded. I should probably stretch next, that would help to-

"David-sama! Are you feeling better?"

' _...I haven't even given her a key to my house.'_

The door to my bedroom clicked open before swinging out gently, leaving a crack between it and the doorframe large enough for Juvia to look in around.

For some reason I couldn't fathom, she was wearing a pair of circular glasses pulled down the bridge of her nose, allowing her to look over the rims.

"Uh...yeah, I'm much better now." I replied, deciding that I'd already talked to her about breaking into my house and I wasn't going to start that again.

"Are you sure, David-sama? You were quite badly injured…" Juvia questioned, before what was rapidly becoming a very familiar rosy blush began to spread across her cheeks. "Allow Juvia to make sure you're alright!"

Normally, I would have told Juvia that, really, I was fine, I had healed myself and she didn't have to go any extra miles for my sake.

Then she entered the room, revealing her chosen outfit, and I couldn't really form words because my jaw was busy trying to drop low enough to crash through my bedroom floor.

It seemed that Juvia had decided my situation necessitated a change of clothes to something more appropriate to said situation.

But considering she had picked out the single most risqué Nurse's outfit I had ever seen or head of, there was nothing really 'appropriate' about it.

Snow-white high heels and long white stockings ran up her legs, ending in the upper half of her thighs; the dress she wore, which was the same snow-white colour, probably barely counted as such considering how little it covered, leaving a band of the Water Mage's skin very clearly visible before the skirt component picked up where her stockings left off.

Golden buttons ran up the front of the dress, which seemed a size or so too tight, and the sleeves barely covered her shoulders - leaving her biceps down to her elbows free to the air before elbow-length gloves that looked like silk took over, showing just how little difference there was between the outfit's pure-white colouration and the milky skin it was being worn over.

And perched atop Juvia's blue hair, somehow having appeared in the time between when she opened the door the first time and when her head vanished for a moment so she could open it properly, was a small nurse's hat with a red cross smack-dab in its centre.

I had seen Juvia's cheerleader outfit at my trial just earlier that day...but _damn_ if she hadn't just gone and taken her place as the single sexiest thing I'd seen since I arrived in Earthland.

Juvia sauntered - not walked, _sauntered_ \- over to where I was standing with no idea what to do with myself, running her eyes up and down me to 'search for injuries'.

I was fairly sure that if any _actual_ nurse had that look in their eyes they'd have been breaking several workplace practices and possibly some laws.

Her gloved hand came up to rest on my torso - which I, of course, had cleared of bandages, which left me in just my tattered sweatpants since my shirt had vanished somewhere - and I found myself scrambling for the same control that let me use my magic to stop the blood from rushing to my cheeks.

"David-sama, you must sit down so Juvia can... _examine_...your injuries."

I was pushed gently down into a sitting position, not offering up any resistance as I came to rest on my bed. This situation was, really, entirely of my own making; it was the consequence of not being a dick about the situation I had found myself in.

The way I saw it, Juvia was acting like she was - taking the _seduction_ route - because I hadn't rejected her even slightly. Even when she got a bit eccentric, like wearing her cheerleading outfit (which I realised now she must have bought or, heaven forbid, _made_ for exactly that situation) or breaking into my house through my shower, I hadn't done anything to dissuade her behaviour.

Maybe that had been a decision made in error - but speaking honestly, I didn't care.

Since I had chosen to comfort her, Juvia had continually gone that extra mile for me - doing things I was sure would have just been exaggerations by the anime. And even if I found them a bit odd or a bit concerning, I always accepted them - always showed I was grateful to her for all she did for me.

Hell, when I woke up that first morning and found that she had deep-cleaned my house and made me breakfast, all I could find it in myself to do was thank her for breaking into my home and enjoy the food she had made.

She had responded so well to that acceptance that it was frankly scary; I had hugged her in the Guild once and she damn near fainted, actually _swooning_ (and when a water-woman swoons, you _notice_ ).

I had to accept it - Juvia was changing, and that was _my_ doing.

In a parallel to how she had acted with Gray later down the line, her actions were becoming more and more...eh…'aggressive'. It wasn't because I showed reluctance, or dislike for her actions, meaning she thought she needed to try harder to get my attention; it was, in fact, the complete reverse. I seemed to fully accept her affections, even wish for more, so she wanted to keep acting like she was so she could keep my attention on her.

...Ok, to be fair I _was_ doing both those things, but Juvia really had a way of taking things to extremes.

Case in point-

 _Juvia using 'making sure I'm okay' as an excuse to FEEL ME UP!_

Her touch was gentle and, even through the gloves she was wearing, I could feel the rather pleasant coolness of her skin. As she trailed her fingers over my chest, a shiver ran up my spine - I was taller than Juvia, which usually gave me a somewhat 'distant' perspective even when I was near her, but with her standing and me sitting it was a complete reversal, and her chest was _right in my face._

' _Damn, she really_ is _trying to seduce me!'_

I...honestly can't find a reason for having a problem with this.

Totomaru's advice to me was to wait a little longer, if I was remembering him right; and honestly, I was thinking that I _had_ waited now. Even with Juvia being…well, herself, I had actually come to know her as more than a character on a TV screen or a member of my Guild.

In fact, I'd actually gotten to know her pretty well; I had heard a lot about her past before Phantom Lord now, having sat with her through a not-inconsiderable amount of tears and emotion in quiet moments.

After being with her through that, after finally reaching her level that very morning...I'd say it was about time for me to stop putting off what we had both been - Hell, what probably quite a few people had been - waiting for.

I took a deep breath, secure only in the knowledge that, somehow, someway, I was going to manage to screw this up.

I licked my lips. "Juvia?"

The Water Mage paused in her 'ministrations' to meet my eyes, still with that look in them. "Yes, David-sama?"

I swallowed. "Can I...tell you something?"

Juvia's eyes began to glaze over a bit, her expression going from 'smouldering' to 'dazed' as she drifted off into one of her fantasies, and I let out a rueful sigh.

I should've known.

-o-

 _Juvia Vision™_

 _Juvia could only stand still in astonished wonder as possibility after possibility of how this situation could develop played out in her mind - each one greater than the its predecessor._

" _Juvia, would you like to go out on a date with me? I want to express my love for you!" And then, he would take her out on a wonderful date...though, of course, in Juvia's mind anything would be perfect so long as she was with him._

" _My Princess, you are the only woman in the world who I could ever wish to be mine - my firmest wish is to spend the rest of our days together!" Then, he would pull out a ring - one that he had been carrying ever since Juvia had first dedicated herself to him. "Juvia Lockser, will you marry me?"_

 _Then the two of them would be wed, spending the rest of their lives together in matrimonial bliss; they would settle down, start a family…_

 _A third vision appeared, as the face that filled her dreams drew closer in her mind's eye. "Juvia...I can't stop myself," he would say, reaching out and taking her hands as he stood, backing her toward the wall. "I need you…"_

 _He'd pin her to the bedroom wall, then lean forwards -_

"I've always...sort of...liked you. _A lot._ "

…

 _For all her imaginings and all her fantasies, all her dreams and every thought that had passed through her mind in the days since she found the man she knew would forever be the only one for her, Juvia found she could never have prepared herself for when her David-sama truly returned her feelings._

 _Still, her racing, joyous heart and indelibly smiling face didn't mind her lack of preparation._

-o-

 _David's POV_

"I-I mean…" I stuttered, trying to keep my tongue under control so I could get the words out. "Ever since I met you - and, I mean, the real you…"

I'm not any good with forward planning. I was never able to think beyond the point of placing a goal and going straight for it, I could never have thought through how I wanted to do this, could never have had a speech ready - let alone one that I could remember.

So I spoke from the heart - and I hoped that wasn't just a cliché romance movies had pushed on me.

"It was...actually when we were hugging at your place. That night - you remember?

"I...realised it then. That I had feelings for you, I mean. You're smart, you're beautiful, you're strong...you are quite literally the most wonderful girl I've met in my entire life." I reached for more words, trying to translate feelings to language. "Whenever I'm with you, I just...I feel _amazing._ It's like you and me…"

I snapped my fingers. " _Click,_ you know?"

I took another breath, forging onward. "And all the things you've done for me...I mean, you've gone completely out of your way to do anything you can for me, and from the bottom of my heart I want you to know I truly appreciate it.

"The time I've spent with you has given me some of the greatest experiences I've had since I joined Phantom Lord, and I really want to continue having experiences like that with you for as long as I can…

"So…I guess, what I'm trying to say is…" Um… "Do you want to be my -" Wait, no that doesn't sound right. "I mean, would you be-" No no no, that's wrong too! "Uh, I would very much appreciate it if you-"

' _Oh fucking christ, I'm really putting my foot in my mouth here. For fuck's sake, how am I even supposed to tell her what I want?! How do I make 'Will you be my girlfriend?' sound..._ good?

' _There's no way I could ask it like that; it's like a demand, it's totally inappropriate. Dammit, what do I-'_

For all the thinking I was doing, there was one thing I'd failed to grasp - that being that Juvia didn't _need_ me to finish the question to understand what I was saying - what I was _asking._

My own stuttering ramble was cut off instantly when Juvia delivered unto me the most enthusiastic hug in quite possibly the history of all mankind. I was almost certain I could hear the ribs of the bed below me creaking and protesting with the impact, but I was paying much more attention to the teary-eyed blunette whose face was currently right above my own, silhouetted slightly against the light from the window.

Before I could ask why she was crying and thus succeed in driving my foot so far into my mouth I could try to kick my own ass back in gear, Juvia answered a question I didn't need to put into words.

" _Yes, David-sama!"_ She declared, and even though she was crying, the smile that was shining so brightly on her face told me it certainly wasn't sadness that spawned them. " _YES!"_

Joy and relief both exploded from my heart and mind, and I opened my mouth to try and give them some release, not having the slightest clue what words I'd use but somehow sure they'd come -

Except, my lips were otherwise occupied.

' _What…?'_

Softness and warmth, unfamiliar feelings, emanated from my lips like a starburst on my face.

' _Juvia's lips,'_ I noted rather distractedly.

She was a lot closer wasn't she? She'd leaned down and...kissed me.

... _I was kissing Juvia!_

The vast majority of my mind shut itself down as my heart began a determined attempt to break my ribs from the inside out, and the majority of the blood in my body rushed up to my face - but still, I was able to reach up with my arms and wrap them around Juvia's shoulders, drawing her closer and deepening the kiss.

Two very different thoughts raced through my mind as I laid there, making out with Juvia Lockser as an S-Class Phantom Lord Mage.

' _Goddamn, I am the luckiest man alive.'_ Was the first, and I knew it with all my heart and soul.

The second?

' _Well, I'm sure now - Gray_ definitely _bats for the home team.'_

* * *

" _At the worst possible time."_

 _3 Months Till Guild War._

I really hate Totomaru sometimes. It's not always, but on some occasions I _honestly despise_ the fact that we have such a close relationship.

Now, that might be by far the most contradictory statement that anyone could speak, but I had an explanation for my hypocrisy.

See, he and I have been through a whole lot together since I joined Phantom Lord - and if there's been one constant throughout all that time, it's that _Totomaru is a nosy little shit._

He gets a kick out of paying me 'surprise visits' at by far the most inopportune times - and, to be fair, it's usually if he wants to do a mission or just hang out; and I don't really have a problem with that, it's wonderful having a friend so close that they can just show up any time and we can hang around and have fun.

But, when he chose to turn up at my house about a day after Juvia and I got together…

Well, the results were...less than ideal.

For Totomaru, that is.

-o-

The time since I got together with Juvia hadn't been as crazy as one might think.

After we managed to pry ourselves off one another (which took long enough that Juvia needed to be heading home), we agreed that we would meet back up at my house the next day.

I might not have shown it until I'd waved her off at the doorstep, but that was making me freaking _nervous._

I mean, we hadn't made any plans beyond 'meet up at David's house'! I had _no idea_ what we were meant to do!

Should I find a movie or a play or something? Was that more of a date thing? _Was_ this going to be a date, or were we just going to pick up where we left off? It wasn't like I had a problem with that, but I could use an idea of _what I was supposed to do!_

Unfortunately, I still didn't have any answers to that question when the door bell rang the next morning.

' _Oh God, she's here, she's here,_ she's here!'

I must have broken at least one land-speed record when I ran to my door.

Opening it with a great deal more calm than I thought I should be capable of, I found Juvia standing outside in her usual outfit and a heart-stopping smile. "Good morning, David-sama!" She greeted me. "It's wonderful to see you again!"

And with just that, my worry evaporated into the atmosphere and freed my brain from the drowning cycle it had been stuck in. "It's great to see you too, Juvia."

Still, though my worries had vanished into the ether, a mutual awkwardness still remained between the two of us - and it was pretty easy for me to see why.

The last time we saw one another, we were making out like it was our last day on Earthland; Juvia had been wearing a nurse costume worthy of Erza herself, I'd been in pants that were more rags than anything...it was understandable that what eye contact we made was fleeting and generally resulted in fluorescent blushes.

...Alright, to be fair a lot of the awkwardness was my fault - I doubted Juvia felt even the slightest bit awkward about it. But then again, I couldn't really tell since most of my focus was on keeping the blood away from my face.

"May I come in, David-sama?"

' _I dither and Juvia moves forward - at least that's still the same.'_

"S-sure thing…"

As soon as I gave her confirmation, Juvia flowed past me like the liquid that composed her, making her way swiftly to the kitchen...with something in her arms, hidden somewhat by the way she was holding it.

' _I wonder what-'_

"David-sama," Juvia called, turning back over her shoulder for a moment, "would you go and sit down in the living room? Juvia has a surprise for you."

I nodded mutely, making my own way to the couch at a slower pace. My thoughts were racing through the possibilities of just what 'surprise' Juvia could possibly have come up with.

I'll admit - not all my thoughts were PG-13.

So I sank into my sofa, blue sparks playing behind my eyes as my thought process accelerated well beyond the norm, my brain running through myriad ways the situation could play out. Was she going to give me something? Did she have something planned? Was she going to cook something?

I didn't know enough to reach a sure conclusion or even a likely one, and that lack of information meant that every possibility my brain threw up became even more different and somehow even more-

Juvia appeared in the kitchen doorway, and my magic died away as my thoughts did the same. She was holding her hands behind her back, wearing an almost nervous expression that got my heart-rate up.

Somehow, this girl could dress herself up in a nurse costume and try to seduce me one day, yet seem utterly adorable with nerves the next.

That just added to the list of things that I liked about Juvia.

"David-sama," she began, "do you remember when you lost your hat during the fight with Aria?"

I nodded. "Yeah, I do - it sucks, too; that was my favourite hat."

' _A bit odd of her to ask; it was only a couple of days ago, it's not like I could have forgotten so quickly…'_

"W-well," she continued, "Juvia remembers you saying so, and she really wanted to show David-sama her love since we've... _gotten together…_ "

There were a few seconds' pause as her expression glazed over, but she shook it off with a visible effort of will to keep going. "Anyway...David-sama, would you close your eyes?"

I did as I was asked, feeling my heartbeat more acutely with the loss of my vision to concentrate on, which in turn caused it to increase more.

A soft, cool hand each of mine, raising them so they were cupped in front of me, before something warm and fuzzy was placed in them.

Taking that as my cue to open my eyes, I looked down to find that - that…

 _A brand-new beanie had been placed in my hands._

I stared at it for a moment - then blinked, and kept staring.

It was a near mirror-image of my old beanie; black and simple, easily folded if I needed it. The only real difference from my old one was the decoration on the front, which was clearly hand-embroidered.

And actually, thinking about it, this entire beanie was probably hand-made by Juvia herself…

And that decoration on the front? I recognised it instantly.

A miniature _teru teru bōzu_ \- almost identical to the one Juvia wore at the clasp of her jacket in the anime, even if this one was a smaller, two-dimensional version.

Juvia had made this for me. A whole new beanie made in just the time since my S-Class trial, without even a word from me…

I put it on, feeling like the warmth it held was spreading from where it rested on my head. The kindness of such a thoughtful gesture was...I couldn't even think of words that would do to thank her.

' _Heh - it's a perfect fit.'_

"A-ah…"

I opened my eyes, not having realised I'd closed them to better appreciate the feeling of the beanie on my head, to see that Juvia was fidgeting nervously as she stood in front of me. "Do you like it, David-sama? Juvia worked all night on it…b-but, she can make another one if you don't like the embroidery!"

I kept trying to find words, which seemed a poor decision since Juvia's fidgeting got worse in the silence. "Oh no...Juvia shouldn't have embroidered it, she just knew that David-sama wouldn't-"

Then, for the first time in our relationship, I was the one to quiet Juvia's rambling - through the simple expedient of otherwise occupying her mouth.

The kiss was probably better than anything I could have found to say, anyway.

Juvia turned bright red in the moments after I stood up and kissed her, but she relaxed into it quickly, looking much more at peace when I pulled back. "Juvia, it's _wonderful._ " I told her, smiling with all the warmth that I could feel in the hand-made clothing she had given me. " _Thank you."_

Juvia didn't say anything in return, but her watery eyes and broad smile were answer enough as she grabbed me in a hug, burying her face in my chest.

I smiled as I returned the gesture, happily wrapping my arms around her shoulders.

We stood there happily for a while, enjoying one another's presence and the lack of distance between us. Doing so, I couldn't help but wonder just what the hell the future would for us - for Earthland. I knew for a fact that the Tower of Heaven Arc was shot all to hell, not to mention all the times Juvia was there to pull Gray's ass out of whatever fire he'd landed himself in.

Actually...shit, thinking about it he might actually die if I don't do something.

...You know what? Fuck it, and fuck him.

If he can't figure out a way to save his own suicidal ass without putting Juvia at risk, that's on his head.

' _No...no, wait, what the hell am I thinking? If he dies because Juvia wasn't there, then that's on_ me! _I have a_ responsibility _to be there and get his ass out of-'_

My own mental back-and-forth was cut off when Juvia let go of me, moving back a step just to push me down onto my couch.

Blinking up at her, I went to voice my confusion - only for a weight to promptly deposit itself right in my lap.

Or, rather, _herself._

I looked up into Juvia's eyes, which - far from the tears of before - were smouldering. Alongside her mischievous grin, my heartbeat - which had calmed somewhat - abruptly skyrocketed well past what it had been earlier.

" _David-sama~,"_ she purred, leaning down a bit, "allow Juvia to... _thank you properly~"_

My instinctive reaction was to start exerting a not-inconsiderable amount of self control to keep my blood supply under control and away from anywhere embarrassing…

Though, with the blunette Water Mage's face growing closer and closer to my own, it was getting really difficult to find strength for caring about what would happen in the future - the present had all my attention.

' _Ah fuck it - there'll be time to think about all this later.'_

I started leaning forward too, tilting my head back so I could meet Juvia's lips coming the other way for another smouldering-

"Yo, David! Now that you're S-Class, do you wanna go on a mission?!"

Juvia and I were snapped out of our mutual enchantment in an instant as Totomaru slammed through my front door with the subtlety of Gajeel in a china shop. The carefully-sculpted mood shattered, leaving all of our fevered excitement to vanish like it was never there.

The Fire Mage got about five steps through the door before bothering to open his eyes and realise what he had just done - or at least infer it, since Juvia was still in my lap and, even if we'd turned to face him, there was maybe half an inch of clearance between our heads.

There were about two seconds where nothing happened but staring - Totomaru at us, Juvia and I right back.

Then my oldest friend on Earthland's face split into a massive, cocky grin, and he shot me a thumbs-up with a glint in his eye. " _Niccce!"_

Now, to give a quick idea of what my mental state was like at that moment...actually, no fucking analogies necessary, because my best friend had just walked in on me and stopped me from making out with my incredibly hot girlfriend of two days.

Still, for every iota of rage that had been induced in me -

 _Juvia squared it._

Light in the air around her twisted, shattered and broke as the atmosphere's water content began to rise and alter its refractive index. The room's lazy air currents were disturbed by the roiling motions as breathable gas started to become a thick fog that tossed and turned like the ocean in a storm, creating misty whirlwinds that shrouded objects' edges and befuddled the eyes.

Juvia's form itself became wavy around the edges, ripples like choppy waves giving rise to sharp, acute edges where once there was normal human anatomy, just for her normal body to take shape once more in time for a new round of tremors.

Her hair exacerbated those same ripples, rising into the air around her and waving back and forth like each strand was its own individual, hissing snake, and her eyes were...yes, her eyes were _actually_ glowing.

Those very glowing, eldritch eyes (which, through the magic-induced, wind-tossed fog which had filled the room, must have resembled the beginning of Cthulhu's descent to Earthland) were focussed on Totomaru with an intensity befitting of weapons-grade laser weapons, which was probably the only reason I was spared from the effect if had on my friend - my friend, who was sweating profusely but wasn't moving a single muscle; rather like he'd been turned to stone.

I was fairly sure the apocalypse could have started right then, and Totomaru's day could only have gotten better.

Really, the only word I could use to describe Juvia in that instant was…

 _ **ゴ**_

 _ **ゴ**_

 _ **ゴ**_

 _ **ゴ**_

 _ **Menacing.**_

" **WATER NEBULA!"**

No time elapsed between Juvia calling her attack and Totomaru exiting my house ass over teakettle, moving at a speed I would probably be pushed to match, with a helping hand from enough water to fill an olympic swimming pool.

Still, as therapeutic as giving him the payback he deserved must have been for her, Juvia still looked fairly pissed off - the fog and roiling wind died away as her hair and form settled, her eyes stopped glowing and light started working properly around her, but she was still glaring in the direction of the door.

I tried to think of something to say, and latched on to the first thing my brain tossed at me. "So...still wanna make out?"

For the second time in as many seconds, Juvia moved quickly enough to out-speed my perceptions - or, that might have just been the ensuing kiss short-circuiting my memory.

I didn't much care either way - because no matter how it happened, I was one lucky bastard.

* * *

 **Authors Note.**

 **I have been writing pairing for over 10 days, I am not ok.**

 **(Teninshigen): We now interrupt your scheduled Author's Note with a message from today's sponsor - the NIMSA Foundation...**

 **What the fuck is the NIMSA Foundation?**

 **(Teninshigen): -Otherwise known as the 'Ness Is My Spirit Animal' Foundation, a subsidiary of the Teninshigen Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Fanfic Writers.**

 **Goddamnit.**

 **(Teninshigen): Every day, an overworked, mentally unwell young man sits down at his computer and forgets his worldly worries by burying himself in the mindset of a deranged, fictional young woman.**

 **Why are you doing this to me…?**

 **(Teninshigen): We at the NIMSA want to do the best we can for this poor young man - so, please, do feed his startling pitiful self-worth with vaguely meaningful comments on this example of psychological escapism so that he can go outside once in a blue moon and get some vitamin D.**

 **(Teninshigen): This has been a public service announcement from the NIMSA - only** _ **you**_ **can prevent Ness abuse.**

 **(Teninshigen): #NessIsMySpiritAnimal**

 **What the fuck is wrong with you? Just because 5 of your fans think I'm their spirit animal doesn't mean you invade this authors note with… Assumptions…**

 **(Teninshigen): Yeah, well, I couldn't think of anything actually** _ **entertaining**_ **so I decided I might as well try and draw on the infinite well of amusement I feel at witnessing your suffering while writing this.**

 **You make a fair point.**

 **(Teninshigen): I try.**

 **Reviews**

 **Ahurtrojo: Funny enough, I posted chapter 3 about 20 mins after that review.**

 **colboltdragon: Thank you, do I know you from somewhere? Your name looks familiar…**

 **animelover78861: The Phantom Lord arc… Is gonna be an interesting write with what I have planned.**

 **mrmugrootbeer: There will be plenty more DIO and JoJo references in the future, I assure you.**

 **(Teninshigen): I'll start laying tracks for the hype train - but it might be useless, 'cause this shit's gonna be** **off the rails.**

 **kumbrakarna: Well, it made as much sense as I could make it. Remember this is FAIRY TAIL.**

 **(Teninshigen): In Shonen, Logic possesses an inversely proportional relationship to combat power during later encounters - so it's a damn good thing this is Fanfiction and we can say 'Fuck Shonen conventions, I have** _ **SCIEEEEEEEEEEEEEENCE!'**_

 **Lazymanjones96: Thank you!**

 **MysteriousGinseng: I've PM'd you about this.**

 **ImpossiblePossibilty: I have pm'd you as well.**

 **(Teninshigen): To both of the above, I'll just say - we've thought about it.** _ **Quite**_ **a lot. There will be some true bullshittery perpetrated down the line in this story, and you can count on it, but all things in moderation and their own time.**

 **AnerianJames: Is the first "This Bites?"**

 **king gilgamesh: You'll see what David's fighting style develops into. But thank you for the suggestions.**

 **Char: The wait is over!**

' **Guest', Aug. 14, Ch. 1: Never before has a single review made me question what it means to be a fanfic writer the this one. And I do think about how major the changes could be due to an OC's impact. Rest assured, I will be considering this with every chapter I write.**

 **(Teninshigen): ...Go look up 'Mind Blown' memes, and I am** _ **all**_ **of them. I read this review, and it may interest you to know that my immediate response was to begin writing a little number I'm calling the Encyclopedia Musica Universalis. That's right - you have** _**literally**_ **inspired me to write an Encyclopedia for Music of the Spheres canon.** _ **That**_ **is the kind of kick in the pants this review was.**

 **(Teninshigen): I've started learning more about things like the common traits in the formation of kingdoms and have had more thoughts about such things as the political, economic and military implications and relations of magicals vs non-magicals than I could ever have expected since reading this review, and I don't even know where it'll end - but I'm going to build an explicable, understandable world for Music of the Spheres even if I have to turn Mashima's story inside out and upside down to do it.**

 **(Teninshigen): Also, I very much agree with the points you raised - but so far as Declan treating the world around him as a 'story' that he is looking in on as an observer, feeling detached from what's going on...you might have noticed already, but Declan isn't a reliable narrator. He is, in fact, missing a screw here and there, though in exactly what manner you'll either have to deduce yourself or keep reading Music :P**

 **Klutzybear: Fairy Tail suffers from only showcasing characters for a single arc, and then getting rid of them. I will be considering this as I write more!**

 **(Teninshigen): Phantom Lord may not be the most original place to start...but it's still probably less than 5% of all Fairy Tail fanfics on this site. A** _ **lot**_ **less.**

 **Sir Cookie: ...You got me. Imagine it as a limited speed force, and you can have some idea of what exactly speed magic is...**

 **T3rum1: AHHHHHHHH! I quite literally woke up, saw your review, and yelled 'HELL YEAH!' at the top of my lungs.**

 **Blaze1992: I may not be the OC x Juvia fic that everyone wanted, but I hope to god I'm the one they deserve.**

 **{Hi: Thank you for the cookie and feedback!**

 **{Aww: Rest in peace bunny, he will be missed.**

 **Linebreak**

 **(Teninshigen): You're going all-out in the prep for next chapter, huh?**

 **What do you mean?**

 **(Teninshigen): ...You're asking that like this hasn't been planned since chapter one.**

 **Again, what do you mean?**

 **(Teninshigen): ...Ignorance is no defence for the crime of a thousand shattered hopes and dreams.**

 **Are you accusing me of buttering them up with a chapter focused on pairing, only to take away all their hopes and dreams next chapter?**

 **(Teninshigen): *Saitama Deadpan***

 **No further comments from you.**


	5. Out Of My League

**Year X784**

* * *

 _The following is a collection of short stories showing significant events happening during the time between six months after David joining Phantom Lord and the beginning of the Guild War with Fairy Tail._

* * *

" _A Burning Heart, Part 1."_

 _3 Months Till Guild War_

Around an hour after Juvia and I somehow managed to distract ourselves from one another enough to keep a distance between us that measured in something larger than nanometres, I tracked down the landing site of Air Totomaru.

The front door of my house, though not-exactly-pure-coincidence, faces towards the Phantom Lord Guild Hall - so, when an eccentric fire mage was catapulted out of said door at incredible speeds by a pissed-off S-Class water mage, said fire mage's impromptu flight just so happened to intersect said building.

On the bright side, he didn't go skipping off into the fields beyond Oak Town.

On the downside, he was gonna have to do some serious work to pay off the two walls he collapsed on his way through and the massive dent in the stone he was currently embedded in.

Standing from outside what used to be the Guild's outer wall, I whistled as I examined the dust which had once been the stone blocks that composed said wall. The wall across the building from the first impact zone was in slightly better condition - rather than being reduced to dust and sand, it had just exploded into various chunks, leaving the impression of a mirror someone had put a .357 round through.

The third wall was the one currently bearing a distinctly Totomaru-shaped new decoration - and if it hadn't been one of the load-bearing walls that were built really thick for just that purpose, it would probably have turned out much like the second.

Crossing the distance to said wall, I blinked. ' _Damn - he's lodged really deep in there.'_

Out of curiosity, I stuck my arm in the dent.

My fingers didn't quite brush Totomaru's shirt.

"Did somebody...get the number...on that dragon…?" Drifted out of the hole in the wall, a bit wheezy and sounding almost like it had come up a well.

"Juvia."

"Thank...you…"

I sighed - somehow, despite being buried several feet deep in a stone wall, the idiot was still able to crack a joke.

' _Well, I suppose his sense of humour can't be broken if it never existed to begin with.'_

Leaning forward, I managed to grab hold of my fellow S-class mage's shirt and, with an almighty _yank_ , dislodge him from his stoney tomb with enough force to clear the wall entirely…

And the next ten yards over my shoulder.

No, I'm not still mad about him cockblocking me (or trying to, anyway) - honest!

Though the groan that escaped his mouth _was_ music to my ears.

"Did you really have to throw me…?" Totomaru asked, shakily pushing himself to his feet and starting the long process of brushing powdered stone off and out of his clothes. "Why couldn't you just pull me out of the wall like a normal person?"

"One," I began, raising a hand with a single finger raised, "you can't apply the word 'normal' to me pulling my best friend out of a stone wall." I raised a second finger. "And two…"

I abruptly stepped forward, getting right in his face and looming over him as best I could, leaving the lighting on the ceiling behind me to cast a shadow with my beanie and hide my eyes. "I'm still _pretty damn pissed_ about you _barging into my house!_ "

Rather than cowing the mage, however, my display just seemed to reinvigorate him. He immediately stood up straight, his eyes gleaming.

"Oh right! Dude, you have to give me the details on you and Juvia! How long have you been together? What was that in your house? Did you guys make out? Did you ward it before you-"

"Alright, that's _enough_ of that!" I cut in, swiping my hand through the air in my best attempt at severing Totomaru's sentence. "That's _our_ business, not yours!"

The gleam in my friend's eyes grew brighter. "Oh ho ho!" He laughed, grinning widely. "So it's ' _our'_ business now, is it? So you two are that close already!"

"We're not!" I denied, before pausing to think. "Well, I mean...kinda...it's like…"

I wasn't particularly proud to say that he wasn't very far off the mark - Juvia and I had been moving pretty damn fast with our relationship.

Still didn't change the fact that it wasn't any of his damn business.

"Should I ask Master Jose if he still has his old book of ceremonies?" Totomaru continued, rubbing his hands together in a way that was, frankly, disturbing. "Guild Masters can legally perform weddings, you know~"

"I swear to God, Totomaru," I growled around my gritted teeth, "if you don't stop talking _right now_ I'm going to tell Gajeel how you _really_ feel about his singing!"

All the colour drained out of my friend's face in an instant; presumably, the mere thought of the beating that would follow any kind of negative comment about the Iron Dragon Slayer's vocal skills was enough to curb his ribbing.

"Fine, fine, be that way then." He pouted. "You're no fun sometimes, David."

"Well excuse me for preferring that Juvia and I's privacy be, you know, _private."_

Totomaru shot me a knowing look. "Alright, I get it...but I won't give up just yet, you hear?"

I sighed; I just _knew_ he was going to be bugging me about this until he finally dragged the details out of me somehow...but really, what else could I expect from my friend?

"Fine." I relented. "I suppose that's the curse I have to bear for being your friend." I continued, injecting as much sarcasm into my words as I could manage.

The Fire mage grinned, punching me in the shoulder. "You know you love me."

I couldn't quite help the grin that formed on my own features.

"Anyway," he continued, "before Juvia comes and tans my hide, let me finish what I was saying back at your place."

He stuck his hand into his jacket, starting to fish around. "No...no, that's not it...why are those there…?" He mumbled, sticking his arm further into his coat while craning his neck to try and see inside his own clothing. "Just where is- AH HA!"

I nearly jumped when Totomaru yanked a piece of folded-up paper from his coat with a flourish and a satisfied grin - then again when he quickly straightened it before shoving it in my face.

I grabbed the paper out of his hands, making sure to smack his arm down in the process...then I actually caught sight of what was written on the paper, and I could feel the blood drain from my face.

-o-

 _ ***S-CLASS JOB REQUEST***_

 _ **Manhunt!**_

 _ **For the past several weeks, south-western Fiore has suffered a series of attacks by a ruthless criminal mage. The criminal has attacked caravans, museums and even whole towns and villages, leaving no survivors. The only factor connecting the events apart from the devastating aftermath is what remains afterwards.**_

 _ **That is, nothing but a field of ash.**_

 _ **This leaves the only logical conclusion that the attacker uses Fire Magic of the deadliest kind with no discrimination; no other information exists on them, as there have been no witnesses to the attacks.**_

 _ **It is unknown if this murderer is attacking specific targets or simply killing indiscriminately, as none of the human remains discovered could be identified.**_

 _ **Please! The people of the coast, and all of Fiore, desperately need to be saved from this psychopath!**_

 _ **Reward: 10,000,000J, Dead or Alive**_

 _ **(Collection on the handing over of the criminal to the Rune Knights)**_

-o-

"Shit…" I muttered, looking up from the paper to Totomaru and raising my voice. "Totomaru, are you serious about taking this? Like, _really_ sure? I mean, I only became an S-class mage a couple of days ago! I don't know if I'm-"

Before I could continue giving voice to the doubts that had sprung to my mind, Totomaru's hand clamped down on my shoulder, cutting me off.

"David," he began, "even since before you joined Phantom Lord, you've been my friend - a better friend than any I could have asked for. I wouldn't have taken this job if I didn't think you could handle it.

"I know your limits, and you know mine; with the two of us working together, there's no-one who could beat us - _especially_ if they're using Fire Magic!"

Totomaru's words, as well as the wide, warm smile he was wearing, gave me the confidence to banish my doubts, and I returned his smile.

"So, you make his magic useless and turn it against him?" I asked, feeling my fear and doubt start to become excitement.

"As you proceed to beat him into the ground before he even knows what's happening?" Totomaru asked in turn, his smile quirking into a sly grin.

"I wouldn't have it any other way!" I declared, and Totomaru laughed.

"Me neither!"

Our right hands slammed together in a tight grip, and I knew that my eyes shone with the same sense of camaraderie that I could see in his eyes.

We both knew that our simple grip of hands conveyed far more than any words.

Still, that didn't stop us yelling at the top of our lungs in anticipation.

"" _LET'S DO THIS!""_

* * *

I let out a sigh - a prolonged, dragging sound that pulled every last atom of air in my lungs along for the ride.

' _Man, I hate trains.'_

Why in God's name did I have to be subjected to public transportation - or, hell, transportation of _any_ kind - when I could just run wherever I had to go? It'd save me time and money - not to mention I wouldn't have to deal with the boredom.

But, since Totomaru had forbidden me from carrying him anyway shortly after I'd joined the guild and still hadn't rescinded the order, the train was the quickest way to Fiore's south-west coast.

' _Still, he's paying, so I can't really complain.'_

I went over what little information we had for this job again in my mind, trying to figure out what it was that niggled at me - what we were missing, what seemed _wrong._

I hadn't hit on it yet - but _something_ didn't add up, and I thought it was to do with the identity of our target.

Realistically, if there was a Fire mage capable of the immense destruction that had been described in the job request, there was a good possibility that I'd recognise them easily - such a threat to the population would definitely be a candidate for 'arc antagonist' in the show.

The problem was that, for the life of me, I couldn't think who would that description.

I was 100% certain that Fairy Tail had at least one Fire mage who was as major antagonist - but in the _nine months_ that had passed since coming to Earthland, that information had passed from my mind.

' _It's not like I can help it.'_ I sighed to myself. ' _I can barely remember to set an alarm, much less recall all the details of an anime I haven't seen in three-quarters of a year.'_

I could still recall all the major arcs - Phantom Lord, Tower of Heaven, Tenrou Island and such.

But the details were fuzzy, if not gone altogether. Hell, I couldn't even recall most of the characters in those arcs any more!

And therein lay my problem. Because if I started forgetting certain events - if I already _had_ forgotten certain events…

Things were bound to get shot to hell.

' _...Maybe I should have written this stuff down somewh-'_

"Hey David, whatcha thinking about?"

"About how hard Juvia's gonna kick your ass; what else?" Man, it was a good thing I was quick on the verbal draw…

Totomaru let out a sheepish chuckle, scratching the back of his head. "Yeah...I'm really not looking forward to that…"

I turned up my nose at him, crossing my arms and grinning smugly. "You really should get into the habit of knocking - _especially_ since she and I are...together, now."

Apparently I chose the wrong words, since the Fire Mage almost instantly bounced out of his sheepish demeanour, a fire in his eyes. "Oh yeah, dude! You've _got_ to tell me all about that!"

I groaned, finding his enthusiasm really annoying all things considered since he was trying to pry into my business. " _Fine."_ I sighed, resigning myself to the coming interrogation and deciding that I'd just keep some of the details to myself. "What do you want to know?"

The grin that split his face was almost enough to make me reconsider.

"Well, when did you guys get together?" He asked. "Officially, I mean."

"Right after I woke up from the S-Class trials." I told him. "Funnily enough it was _your_ advice that finally got me to man up." I leaned back in my sight, folding my arms behind my head. "So, I asked her if she wanted to get together."

' _Well, I got the point across, at least - even if I didn't actually ask the question as such…'_

Totomaru let out a bark of laughter, rocking back in his seat. "It's about time you took my advice! I told you it'd all work out, didn't I?"

I couldn't keep a smile off my face, even though I tried. I had to give credit where it was due, his advice _was_ really helpful, and I'm thankful to have had it.

Of course, I just _knew_ his next question was going to ruin my appreciative mood, so I braced myself and waited for it.

' _..._

' _...it's not coming?'_

"Don't you have any more questions?" I asked finally, lowering the angle of my head a bit so I could see Totomaru properly - only to find that he had pulled out the flyer again and was busy examining it.

"David...this doesn't add up." He told me, apparently ignoring my question entirely in favour of focussing on whatever he'd twigged to. "Why would this mage just attack randomly? I can't think of any motive behind what they've done - I mean, maybe they could be looking for something, but there's no connection between any of the places that were attacked…"

' _Like I thought, there isn't a connecting pattern.'_ I thought. ' _No motive behind their actions...unless…'_

"Well, maybe they're attacking indiscriminately to gain attention for something?" I posited, drawing a sigh from Totomaru.

"If that's the case, then even by responding to the job request we're giving them what they want." He complained. "And that _can't_ end well."

"You're right, " I admitted, "something about this person just plain doesn't make sense."

Totomaru let out another, longer sigh, sinking into his seat as I mimicked him, leaving us sitting in silence for a few moments.

I turned over half-baked ideas in my head, trying to conceive of possibilities, when something came to mind. "Totomaru, if you've got all these doubts, why did you take this request in the first place?"

Totomaru sat up a bit straighter, smiling at me. "Well, I was on the fence about it for a while, but ever since the S-Class trials I figured that, with you here, anything would be a piece of cake!"

He looked down at the request again. "I doubt this guy will even know what hit him - with me wreaking havoc with his fire magic and you beating his ass before he can blink, this job'll be easy!"

Seeing my confident friend almost sparkle as he grinned, I found myself unable to disagree. ' _Can't argue with that logic.'_

I returned the grin, shaking my head. "You always _do_ have the good ideas."

"Well, I can't help being brilliant." Totomaru sighed dramatically, putting the back of his hand to his forehead before looking up and to the side.

"You can't help being a smug ass either, apparently."

"Hey!"

The comically betrayed look on Totomaru's face drew a laugh out of me, and I took a little while to calm down so I could speak again. "Totomaru, where are we actually meeting this person for the request?" I questioned. "I mean, it kinda sounds like we're just going on a manhunt to me."

"Well the job request came from Dawn City," Totomaru explained, "so we're going to go meet the Rune Knights Battalion there and see if they can't tell us about what's been going on."

I accepted the explanation with a nod, then leaned back in my seat and fell into a silence that persisted for several minutes.

The sound of the train progressing along the tracks to Dawn City was the only thing which broke the silence for quite a long time, until the Fire mage across from me finally spoke again.

"David…" He began, sounding deadly serious. "I have another question to ask you - and I need you to please answer it with one-hundred-percent accuracy."

I blinked in surprise; this had come out of absolutely nowhere. ' _He must have something really important to ask me…'_

The focussed look in his eyes, combined with his tone of voice, actually made me a bit nervous. ' _What could he possibly need to know?'_

"...Alright."

Totomaru took a deep breath, looking directly into my eyes as he asked his question.

"Did you use protection while you were with Juvia?"

I blinked - then let out a massive groan, lowering my face into my hands.

It was going to be a loooong ride to Dawn City.

* * *

' _Rune Knights. Why oh why did it have to be Rune Knights.'_

If I were to say there had been... _conflict_ between the Rune Knights and Guild Mages, I'd be understating things rather badly. It would be more accurate to say that the two groups _hate each others' guts._

I couldn't honestly say I _knew_ why that was the case - but I had a few guesses.

Simply put, Guild Mages were more powerful, less restricted, and much more well-liked by the public. Rune Knights were Fiore's main police force, tasked with keeping order throughout the land and acting under the direct control and authority of the Magic Council.

It was unregulated freedom versus enforced obedience - and _nothing_ good could come of that mix.

Or, something like that. ' _They just hate us 'cause they're better.'_

Still, despite my personal dislike of the Rune Knights - which wasn't so different from many other mages' - it was damned clear that the feeling was mutual.

Totomaru and I being banned from entering their building made it rather obvious.

Rune Knights were stationed in facilities not too far removed from a modern-day United States Military base; the main difference was in size, since Rune Knight facilities were smaller.

It was a walled-off compound, containing various different buildings. Through the large metal gate I could see some of the Knights casting various annoyed or curious glances at Totomaru and I from some kind of training ground area near the center of the buildings.

And speaking of Totomaru…

"What the hell do you mean 'You have to wait here for the captain?! I can _literally_ see him inside one of the buildings!"

He was busy arguing with the guards stationed outside said large metal gate.

The expression of the man who Totomaru was yelling at didn't change at all from its stoic cast, just as it hadn't since we arrived at the base minutes earlier. "The captain will see you when he is ready."

"He's sitting there _drinking coffee!"_ Totomaru yelled. "I've locked eyes with him _at least_ three times!"

"When he is ready."

I saw Totomaru's face turn red and, before he could do something that would get us arrested, I grabbed him by the shoulder. "Dude, we can wait a bit."

My friend whirled around to face me, his expression alight with fervour. "David, they're _fucking with us!_ I can see it in his eyes!" He declared, brandishing one hand to point his index finger at the guard he'd been speaking with, who didn't even glance at the digit. "You _can't_ expect me to just take this lying-"

I pretty much tuned him out at that point, since nothing I said was going to calm him down. Honestly...he was so immature sometimes; it baffled me how he could switch from serious and thoughtful to childish in a matter of moments.

I could see where he was coming from, though - at this point the captain was just fucking with us.

I could see the bastard in question through the gate, just exiting the building that probably served as the cafeteria based on the tables I could see in there. He wasn't dressed all that differently from the rest of the Rune Knights; in fact, the only real addition was the gleaming badge on his chest which probably signified his rank.

Then again, maybe it signified dedicated effort towards suckering his lips to some higher-up's ass. Fifty-fifty odds with Rune Knights.

As he approached, the guards at the gate glanced over their shoulders and then saluted; in return, the captain merely nodded to them as the gate opened itself with his approach.

"It's about damn time!" Totomaru exclaimed, folding his arms and glaring at the captain. "D'you know how sick of waiting I was getting?!"

The captain levelled a condescending glare at Totomaru, sniffing haughtily. "I'm not sure what I expected when I heard Phantom Lord were taking this job," he declared, "but I thought at least my _lowest_ expectations might be met."

I slammed my hand over Totomaru's mouth before he could say anything in response to that, cutting off the inevitable stream of curses that would have begun flowing out ny moment. "Excuse my partner; he's still a bit agitated from the trip." I told the captain, shooting my friend a glare out the corner of my eye. "C'mon Totomaru," I hissed, "at least _try_ to act professional, dammit!"

Totomaru growled, but didn't try to speak.

"For the sake of getting this over with I'll overlook it." The captain grunted, "I don't want to have to deal with you mages and you don't want to deal with us," he continued, "so let's just get this done so we can all go our separate ways."

"That's fine." I acquiesced, snatching the request paper from Totomaru. "We're supposed to get more details from you about where we need to be and what the hell we're dealing with."

Nodding, the captain reached into his cloak and retrieved a small lacrima. When he held it up, a blue magic circle formed in the air above it before swelling and changing into a large rectangle bearing a list of some kind.

"Most of what's known about the assailant is already on that job request." The captain told us, letting out a tired sigh. "As you already know, there were no witnesses. The death toll has been rising constantly, and nothing we've done so far has even slowed it down."

He pressed his finger to a bar near the rectangle's right-hand side and began dragging it downward, scrolling through the list. "However, there _is_ something you should be aware of. The attacks you're responding to aren't the only ones."

Now _there_ was something to make me worry. "You mean there have been more attacks?"

The captain shook his head. "Not so much attacks - or at least, certainly nothing on the scale of the disasters that spawned that job request. It's more a series of crimes that have been taking place in the same region at the same time. I won't go into a lot of detail, since you're here for the perpetrator behind the villages' destruction, but we believe these other crimes are linked to them somehow."

' _That would imply that there's an organisation involved in this...maybe a Dark Guild. The attacks might actually be distractions that are meant to keep the Rune Knights busy and spread thin…'_

I couldn't help feeling apprehensive. Depending on the exact details of the extra crimes, there could be something going on in the background which would be more devastating to Fiore than even the swathe of destruction it was currently experiencing.

' _If I could only remember the name of the_ damn Guild, _I could make more sense of this mess.'_

Before I could voice any of the questions which were lining up in my mind, the Lacrima in the captain's hand suddenly began to glow a bright red. The rectangle containing the list shifted colour too, the words within it vanishing to be replaced with the face of a man in a Rune Knight's uniform…

And judging by the flaming hellstorm over his shoulder, he wasn't making a routine report.

" _Sir, Heiwana Village is under attack!"_ He yelled, panic and fear both clearly audible in his voice just as horror was clear on his face. " _Please, send someone! ANYONE! He's killing every-"_

I didn't stick around for him to end his sentence. Instead, the moment I got the name of the village-

 _I was already moving._

A cloak of blue magical power sparked to life across my body, filling me up from head to toe, and when I kicked off the ground I left a crater behind me. " **Slipstream!"**

Visible as nothing more than a blue streak of light, I tore out of Dawn City in the vague direction of Heiwana Village.

As I did, I fed each new feeling that rose within me to the furnace of my magic. Fear and apprehension fed the flames, the excitement of a fight to come and the heart-pounding adrenaline stoked them higher, pushing me ever faster. But above and beyond all of them, one thing burned without vanishing.

 _Determination._ Because whoever that mage was…

' _ **He's dead.'**_

* * *

Locating Heiwana Village was a trivial task - all I had to do was follow the billowing tower of smoke and ash that clawed its way into the heavens and blocked out the sun in a shadow that stretched for miles.

I had to narrow my eyes as I drew closer, ash, dust and dozens of other particles assaulting my vision as I drew nearer to the cloud. It stung my eyes, and I had to cough in an attempt to clear my lungs. But that was nothing, really.

Not compared to the _smell._

It was impossible to describe the odorous miasma that assaulted my nose. It was rank, _pungent,_ digging through my nostrils and flooding my throat with a stench so sickly and _foul_ that I could practically taste it.

Part of what made it so horrifying was the vaguely sweet edge to the aroma - a musky, _horrid_ sweetness, but a sweetness nonetheless.

I didn't recognise it from memory...but it didn't take a genius to realise it was the smell of burning corpses.

I couldn't even form a coherent thought, my senses overwhelming my mind to the point where I was barely able to keep myself running smoothly. But when I actually made it _into_ the cloud, the sight that greeted me finally pushed things that far, causing me to drop out of my slipstream.

My eyes widened and my mouth open as the stinging sensation and the stench took a backseat to the _apocalypse_ I bore witness to.

It was a completely unfamiliar event for me to just _stop._ But the scene around me demanded it; it was so... _so…_

 _Terrifying._

Ash blew in flurries like a dirty snowstorm, dusting everything with a layer of black and grey. Fires made a playground of what remained of the village, dancing and cavorting as they devoured the ruins of once-proud homes. One such structure collapsed while I watched, sending up another great plume of sparks, smoke and debris, while the bonfire within finally erupted and engulfed the building's remains.

I could see everything burning down...but it was in the background. Because as bad as the destruction was…

The state of the villagers was _so. Much._ _ **Worse.**_

Things that only vaguely resembled humans were scattered throughout the hellscape - some moving, some utterly still. Though their states of wellbeing varied, they all shared a common trait in the massive number of second and degree burns that covered them. Men, women... _children..._ all made equal by the flames which ate away at them.

I felt sick down to my soul as I looked out at Hell on Earthland, and only a single thought could permeate the torrent of sensory input and raw emotion that had swept me away. ' _...This isn't Fairy Tail. This isn't the happy, magic-filled adventure show that I know.'_

Among the fire and the ruin, I found my gaze drawn to a single building, still standing, apparently untouched by the blaze. From what I could tell, it looked like a large meeting hall, resembling a church with its size and steeple. But on its roof were two out-of-place protrusions that looked an awful lot like people - two _very_ different people.

As I started moving closer, not able to find the coordination for using magic and being slowed by having to navigate the hell I stood in, details started to resolve themselves.

One figure was a middle-aged man, dressed in a simple, striped black suit, a white shirt and red tie. His face showed all the signs of age, his dark hair streaked with grey. He was relatively tall and, all things considered, I'd have pegged him as the town's mayor or something similar.

That figure was being held over the edge of the building's roof by his _neck._ His hands were scrabbling at the single limb which held him in place, his features contorted by fear and pain, a slightly blue cast to the skin of his face.

And that limb he was scrabbling at so desperately was attached to a figure I recognised in an instant.

The man's most prominent feature was his long, spiky blond hair, which reached down to his lower back and wouldn't have been out of place on a Super Saiyan Three. His eyes were a bloody red, the irises marked with concentric circles, and they _shone_ with the kind of mad light only the truly insane could conjure.

He wore a yellow and dark-blue skirt-like armour with a red ribbon around his waist, leaving the right-hand side of his chest and his shoulder exposed.

A shoulder which bore, proudly and clearly, a black Guild Mark. A mark that resembled half of a jagged heart.

The mark of the premiere Dark Guild, Grimoire Heart.

Zancrow, the Mad Fire-God-Slayer, one of the Seven Kin of Purgatory, laughed loudly enough to be heard from outside the ash cloud - a horrid, bellowing sound that seemed like it should have come from something three times his size and with twice as many teeth. Then he lowered his head from where he had thrown it back, looked around and met my eyes.

The shiver that ran down my spine almost seemed like his stare was chasing it, all the way past my body and into my soul.

"I was wondering when someone would finally show up!" He declared with a cackle, almost leisurely snapping the man's neck before he tossed his lifeless body. It arced up for a few metres, then fell through the rest of the parabola until it crashed down into the ash and dust at my feet, leaving lifeless eyes to stare up at me. "It gets boring killing all these townspeople - they ain't even worth the effort sometimes! Mages are way more fun!"

I wanted to speak, but my mouth was beyond my control. My body in its entirety was likewise frozen in place, my brain on lockdown as two distinct ideas formed there with all the processing power it could muster.

On one hand, Zancrow was a very important character further down the line, and his influence was important for the main cast to develop and grow - Natsu in particular. On the other, he was a crazed, psychopathic murderer that was attacking towns and villages, killing everything and everyone in his path.

The choice that needed to be made was resolved in less than an instant.

Seeing him kill so casually, witnessing first-hand the destruction he had brought to this village and knowing that he had done so before and would do so again, I couldn't see him as a 'character' vital to the story yet to unfold. I didn't consider the things Zancrow would do behind the scenes, things that could affect the plotline. I ignored his important in Natsu's growth as a mage and a fighter.

When I looked at Zancrow, I didn't even see a human. All I saw was an animal.

 _ **And it needed to be put down.**_

"Oooh? You look _really_ pissed off, don'tcha?" Zancrow's face split into a cruel grin. "I wonder how long you'll last against-"

" _Why…."_ I hissed, cutting him off as my body came back under my control, all the emotions that had been blocking me from moving beginning to melt and be consumed by the _molten rage_ that filled me. "What could you possibly gain from this?!"

Zancrow laughed once more, with a higher pitch this time, every note filled with malice. "Oh, that's rich! You know, loads of mages ask the exact same thing. Always wanting to know the 'motive'."

My magic was back, jumping across my skin and the air around me like lightning, casting light into the surrounding ash. The flurries of burned and burning material around me began to spin faster, creating strange patterns and the beginnings of a whirlwind. My teeth ground together, Zancrow's nonchalance enraging me beyond even what he had managed so far.

"Well if you really want to know...I'd have to say I'm doing it for fun!" Zancrow declared. "Ain't nothing quite like cutting loose and getting _all_ of it out of my system. It's a real healthy way to relieve stress... _don'tcha think?"_

Something _snapped_ , and I was fairly sure it was something inside me. "Is this all just some sick _game_ to you?!" I demanded, drawing another cackle from Zancrow.

"Oh, I can't tell ya how many times I've heard that one before! All of you mages use the same lines...you're nothing but ants compared to us in Grimoire Heart!"

My fingernails threatened to puncture the skin of my palms as my fists tightened, the shaking of my body accelerated by my magic until I must have appeared almost fuzzy, like a flickering hologram. I opened my mouth, wanting to express at least some of the raging volcano of anger within me…

And Zancrow smirked. "Your next line is - 'You'll pay for what you've done, you bastard!"

"You'll pay for what you've done, you bastard!"

It took me a second to process what Zancrow had just done - but I never got a chance to even really internalise the fact that I had just been Joseph'd, let alone say something.

Because _Zancrow was already moving._

He shot from the roof of the building with enough force to collapse it behind him, crossing the distance between us in the time it took my mind to reboot and rearing back his fist. " **DIE!"**

I only barely got my arms up in a guard before Zancrow's fist hit me with all the force of an out-of-control freight train, driving my arms back into my chest before the force lifted me from my feet and send me flying.

I was able to perceive seconds passing before I crashed back to earth, digging a trench with my back as the taste of copper filled my mouth.

Zancrow didn't waste any time, leaping into the air and following me. He seemed to hang there for an instant, flames as black as pitch roaring to life around his fist...before his descent began. " **Fire God's Divine Fist!"**

As he grew closer and closer, his psychotic grin re-ignited my anger from where it had taken a backseat to shock, and I snapped out of it.

I pulled myself into a backflip, exiting the crater just before he impacted - and a damn good thing to, because I was barely clear when an _explosion_ of dust and black flames erupted from where Zancrow had hit.

I was barely back on my feet when the curtain of dust swirled and tore apart, making way for a torrent of black flames that raced toward me. My magical power reignited and reached my eyes, the world slowing to a crawl. My leg shot out, finding a foothold in the air then blurring as it kicked out ten times. " **Razor!"**

Shave and Moonwalk worked in perfect harmony, allowing to _just_ zig-zag my way around Zancrow's attack. As I did so, the God Slayer burst forth from the cloud, black flames twisting themselves into the form of a scythe in his palm.

Moonwalk gave me the purchase to avoid the first wild swing with the weapon, launching me into the sky and away from the impending bisection. Flipping so my feet were skywards, I reversed my course, shooting straight for Zancrow and catching him in mid-air, where he had no escape.

My fist slammed home in his face with no way to avoid it, and Zancrow slammed into the ground barely a second after the impact, raising another cloud of ash.

I mistakenly took a moment to think, and in doing so left myself open when Zancrow shot up from the ground and smashed his fist into _my_ face.

During that punch, I understood something that had eluded me for my entire time in Earthland. The answer to the question - 'Why are Slayer-Mages so powerful?'. What made them so strong that they could defeat any challenge in their way?

For that instant where I hung in mid-air, Zancrow's fist firmly planted in my face, I could feel his power. Beneath the thin veneer of humanity that he wore like a costume, I felt the vast magical power and immeasurable strength that Zancrow had at his disposal. Like that, I truly understood what absolute _monsters_ the Slayers were.

Then physics took over, momentum was imparted and I was instantly catapulted into the sky, my face nothing but pain.

I re-oriented myself through eyes filled with tears, barely managing to work through the pain well enough to re-focus on Zancrow and get my motion under control. It wasn't a moment too soon, because I needed that focus to avoid the whips of black flame that Zancrow sent lashing after me.

Kicking off thin air, I sped across the sky, Moonwalk allowing me to weave in and out of the thick, flaming ropes. When a solid wall of those same flames appeared in front of me, I reversed my course instantly - but before I could gain any distance, _another_ wall of black flames greeted me.

Before I could try another direction, those walls twisted and stretched, swirling into another and forming a black tornado around me, trapping me in the eye.

"Try speeding through _that_ asshole!" Zancrow yelled, making himself heard even over the roar of his flames as he looked up from the ground. "You're about to be nothing but ashes!"

' _That's a bit uncalled f-'_

" **Fire God's-"**

"SHIT!" I yelled, assessing my options and deciding the only thing left was _up_ , where I immediately leapt.

" **-BELLOW!"**

A _titanic_ volume of black fire spewed forth from Zancrow's mouth in a torrent, tearing upwards through the eye of the flaming storm. I could feel its heat at my heels just as surely as I could feel the heat on my sides from the walls of the tornado, and I coaxed more speed from myself in a desperate attempt to open distance between myself and the hungry flames that were leaping for me.

I reached the top of the tornado less than an instant before the flames did likewise, kicking myself sideways over one of the flaming walls and just barely escaping the Bellow.

I allowed gravity to take hold of me, dropping back towards the ground and scanning for Zancrow. Beside me, the flaming storm fell apart and dissipated into the air, revealing Zancrow's head of blond hair as he yelled up at me again. "Stay still so I can burn you!" He demanded, his face alight with gleeful insanity. "It's no fun if you just avoid it all! Fight me like a _man_ you pussy bitch!"

'Definitely _not following_ that _advice.'_

As I fell down toward the God Slayer, I grimaced. I hadn't been expecting to run into someone of Zancrow's level barely nine months into my Earthland life. I hadn't thought I'd see hide or hair of this _abomination_ of a mage until the arc where he appeared. So as blue magic sparked behind my eyes, accelerating my thought processes, I used that time to think _furiously._

' _He completely outclasses me in magical power, range and strength. The only way I can get in close is to catch him off-guard or make an opening. My deadly moves are about the only thing that would have any real effect, but that runs the risk of killing him. The plot's already somewhat broken, I'm not trying to mess it up more...but what the hell is this changing? I don't even fucking know!'_

A cold shiver ran down my spine as an unwelcome thought entered my mind. ' _I could always use…'that'...'_

I quickly pushed the idea away. I _wasn't_ using that - I _couldn't_ use that. I couldn't suffer that damage, and there was no guarantee that it would put Zancrow down. It wasn't an option-

The beginning of a sound, something utterly out of place, reached my ears, and the lights behind my eyes died away as both Zancrow and I whipped our heads around to see what had caused it.

My eyes fell on the source quickly - and my heart sank so far it must have appeared on the other side of the planet.

Two children, a brother and sister by the looks of it, were just outside the ruins of a house roughly equidistant from both Zancrow and I. Their clothing was singed and ragged, though they looked relatively okay physically - the sound had been the smaller one, the brother, bursting out crying over what I could only assume was…

' _Oh God…'_

His parents' lifeless bodies, lying at the steps of the house and unmistakably dead.

The sister was desperately trying to shush the boy, casting a terrified look at Zancrow as tears spilled from her eyes. They must have been trying to escape, then their parents had done... _something_ to make sure they lived.

I finally reached the ground, flipping and sticking a three-point landing as I narrowed my eyes at Zancrow. He met my gaze, and we locked. ' _...He wouldn't.'_

Not kids. He wouldn't...he _couldn't-_

Zancrow howled with laughter, then _launched_ himself towards the children, his hands igniting with black flames.

The anger I had felt as I first stood in front of Zancrow - the truly molten, white-hot sun-heart that had been born in my chest and had _demanded_ I _end him on the spot_ , but which had been shut away behind shock and a panicked need to stay alive, finally found the foothold it needed to burst back into full life. In the face of the incandescence, my magic started shifting from blue to violet as its frequency skyrocketed, and whatever restraint I had been holding onto gave way like so much feather down.

I couldn't really find it in myself to care as I took off. "YOU SICK BASTARD!"

I was at the children in such little time I might as well have teleported, blowing past any speed I'd achieved before. I scooped them up, one under each arm, their bodies being suffused by the still-darkening violet lightning-storm that my magic had become. That cloak of power carried them along in my little pocket of reality where the laws of physics went unheeded, leaving them unharmed as I carried us out of the way of Zancrow's attack.

It made sense - when I carried Totomaru during out run from the Vulcans, he hadn't been any more subject to inertia, momentum or friction than I had been. My magic protected whatever I coated with it from the rigours of travelling at the speeds I routinely reached.

And that meant I didn't have to worry about splattering the kids by accelerating them too fast.

We appeared on the edge of the ruined town heartbeats later, and as I set the kids down, I took a moment to grab each of them by the shoulder and stare into the girl's eyes. "Run. Get the hell out of here as fast as you can, and don't look back even for a second."

Her face was streaked with blood, ash, tears and snot, her eyes just barely open as the lashes were clogged with the burned remains of her home. "B-but what about-"

"I don't have answers for you." I told her shortly, grimacing as I ran a hand through my hair. "None that would be worth anything."

My reply only set them to crying harder, and though my heart felt like it was crawling its way from my chest I continued. "Listen, you have to run. That thing back there is nothing but a monster, and it needs to be put down. I can't tell you everything is going to be okay because after this, nothing's going to be the same ever again. Not for you and not for me, not for _anyone_. All I can tell you is that I'm going back in there, and if it's the last thing I do that thing is going to get _everything_ it's got coming to it."

My words didn't do anything to calm the children, but they at least nodded. The sister pulled the boy off the ground and began to run, the smaller child picking up the motion as she went.

They didn't get all that far before the girl turned back to me. " _T-thank you…"_

Her voice was barely a whisper - but I heard it.

As the kids kept running, going as fast as their legs could carry them, I could only hope that they would meet the Rune Knights who I hoped to _God_ were on their way and bringing Totomaru with them.

I turned back to the ruined village, a super-fast shake of my body dislodging the worst of the ash that had landed on me. There was only one thought in my head. ' _It's risky, but I'll be able to hold it for a little while at least. 'That' is the only way I'm going to beat him after all.'_

The violet light around me began to die, shifting back to blue as I forced my magic down and inward. The corona dimmed to nothing as all my magic returned to my container, and I took a deep breath as I turned my attention inward, trying not to gag on the putrid air.

When I called on my magic this time, the result was wholly different.

My magical container, located roughly in the center of my chest, began to glow, the light visible even through my skin and shirt. Then as I focussed on it, willing it to travel through my body, that light began to spread.

A full web of glowing lines traversed my body, tracing themselves below my skin and shining bright enough to paint themselves across my clothes. They followed my veins and arteries, forming such an intricate design that even though the customary shroud of sparks and coruscating bolts was missing, I still glowed just as brightly.

I closed my eyes, digging as deep as I knew how while I squatted, hands on my knees. Once the magic was done tracing my circulatory system, it began to really take effect. My blood began to rush faster and faster through my body, oxygen and nutrients fed into my muscles at exponentially greater rates. My entire body _pulsed_ outward a bit, my muscles expanding as everything tensed, its output maximised like an engine on nitro.

I grit my teeth, drawing in lung-fulls of air at a speed no other human could match, feeding oxygen to my voracious blood-flow. That air began to thicken, as the superhuman activation of my body raised its temperature high enough that the sweat which poured out of me evaporated before it even really left, releasing clouds of steam into the air around me.

I slowly rose up from my squatting position, one last pulse of magic running the circuit of my body and holding the spell in place, leaving my mind free enough to consider other things.

Like murdering the ever-living shit out of Zancrow.

When I opened my eyes, the world was tinted a solid blue as if I was staring through a pane of glass, the light that shone from me dancing on the ashes around me.

I somehow took an even deeper breath than the ones I was machine-pumping to keep myself oxygenated, and I declared for all the world to hear the name of my hyper-state.

" **GEAR SECOND!"**

Then the ground below me cratered inward before it exploded outwards, not impeded in the slightest by me since I was already gone, leaving a solid David-shaped tunnel in the clouds of ash as I tore through the town to where Zancrow remained.

No more holding back. No more consideration of the plot. No more excuses.

I was going to beat him like a drum - and God as my witness, when I was finished, there would be _nothing_ left.

 **Linebreak**

 **Authors Note.**

 **Your next line is… "Why make us wait a long ass time for a cliffhanger?!"**

 **(Teninshigen): Huh, that's probably not too far away from what Music's readers are thinking .**

 **Well I do have an answer for you. I started Speeding out in the summer, where I could focus all my attention to it every single day. Now I have school, college prep, and a job to worry about. So my attention has been very divided. But worry not, my wonderful friend Teninshigen is going to be forcing me get on task and write more and more of this for you!**

 **(Teninshigen): You're welcome.**

 **With that out of the way, I can now explain David's form.**

 **When I looked up what Gear Second actually was on the one piece wiki, I figured out a way to recreate it with speed magic. Simple as that. You'll have to forgive me if I left out any details of how it should operate.**

 **(Teninshigen): Science is nice. Sciencing the shit out of things is nicer. But frankly, sometimes you just have to roll for bullshit and enjoy the ride.**

 **And onto the reviews!**

 **Linebreak**

 **chibi-no-baka: Well yes, it will be interesting to see how the both of them react. No matter what happens though, you really can't see this ending up well for Gray, can you?**

 **Blaze1992: Yes, I didn't want the romance in the story to be unrealistic. Even if it's Juvia, I won't just make them instantly go at it. That would be taking things way too fast, even for a Speed Mage. And yes, David will eventually use some weapons.**

 **Jaqwon14: This Bites! Is an inspiration to all Self-Insert writers. And Juvia had so much potential in the show, but she was so underused. Also, Gray will have his ass kicked, don't you worry.**

 **Kumbrakarna: I tried to make it so you could see the both of them and their emotions really well. And please… the spirit animal thing is going to get out of hand…**

 **T3rum1: Teninshigen truly captured the horror of a pissed off Juvia. I glad that part really turned out well. He's got a much better vocabulary than me.**

' **Char' ch4: Thank you!**

' **You know who' ch4: Shelby get out of here. I know it's you.**

' **Hello' ch4: Relaxation is a good thing. But conflict drives a story.**

 **Lightsbane1905: David can be rather silly, can't he?**

 **Greyjedi449t: Well here it is!**

 **Drunkle Qrow, ch1,2,3,4: Juvia is the best girl. And this story will transcend its limits. Just you wait.**

 **TheLonelyWillow: Thanks Willow! Still waiting for Silent Muse though.**

 **king gilgamesh: I like slice of life moments in stories, really gives it a great feeling.**

 **Akashic Records: Thank you so much! Phantom Lord has so much potential, and I wanted to capture it in this story! It feels great to know the one of the top writers in the Dark Souls fandom likes this story!**

 **Rayzer: Rayzer please, I'm just a simple man. I don't need to be** _ **everyone's**_ **spirit animal.**

 **Blake Tourdner: Juvia has always been my favorite as well!**

 **Darkjaden: You don't have to wait anymore!**

 **kumbrakarna: WAIT NO LONGER MY CHILD!**

' **Guest' ch4: I have not heard of the powerpack before. And I won't be making Gray gay in this story, just wouldn't fit it. And for the crossover? You'll just have to wait and see…**

' **Guest' ch4: I have mentioned this, David would completely counteract racer's abilities.**

 **Xanothos: You have more of this now!**

 **End of Reviews.**

 **There will be ripples, and changes to follow.**


	6. Speedster Vs Fire God

**Year X784**

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

 _The following is a collection of short stories showing significant events happening during the time between six months after David joining Phantom Lord and the beginning of the Guild War with Fairy Tail._

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

" _A Burning Heart, Part 2."_

 _3 Months Till Guild War_

I had plenty of time to think as I ran back into the ruins of the town. My brain was so oversaturated with magic that even with the ridiculous turn of speed I'd just taken on, I could still count upwards of ten in the gaps between steps. With that much time going spare, my thoughts turned inward, and I idly wondered when I'd changed so much.

Not even a year ago I was a highschool student...and that was about it. I didn't stand out, for better or for worse. I had friends, but I wasn't exactly a social butterfly. I had hobbies, but they were mostly things I kept to myself. I was just getting ready to apply to a decent college, preparing for the next step in my life.

Then, one car accident later, everything went spiralling out of control. Speaking with a God, finding myself whole once again on Earthland, discovering my magic and meeting Totomaru, joining Phantom Lord...it was one thing after another, with little to no respite. It felt like it had been months since I could really stand back and take a look at myself, but now that I did, I could see things had changed right from the start.

Really thinking about it, there was no way that I could have been mentally or physically capable of fighting that Vulcan so long ago. I was a fairly non-confrontational teenager who'd just died and woken up again before having a breakdown and wallowing in guilt. I couldn't have psyched myself up enough to fight that monster in the first place, let alone _beat_ it. Hell, I'd have run from that one grunt who got in my face when I first joined up with Phantom! There was no way that I would have had the guts to taunt and pummel him!

Yet I did all of that. I fought the Vulcan and got beaten to hell, but I killed it. I got Totomaru all the way to Oak Town despite all the shit that had been done to me that day. I walked out of the infirmary and into a fight which I won hands-down.

Violence was majorly discouraged back home. It was considered a last resort, only to be used in the face of _other_ violence. Words, understanding and compassion were the mainstays of conflict resolution (or so people liked to say), and that message of pacifism was spread around like gospel.

Here on Earthland, though, violence was still considered the premium method of problem solving. It was widely taught, _more_ widely encouraged and frankly it seemed to work better than most of the ways I'd been taught to avoid fights as a kid. I shouldn't have been able to accept that with the upbringing I'd had. I _damn well_ shouldn't have been able to jump into it feet-first and land running.

But I did. Without so much as a second thought.

Somewhere between when I closed my eyes for the last time and opened them for the first, something shifted. It was probably that God's doing, if I wanted to pin the blame on someone in particular. Maybe I was just a whole mess of psychological issues, but I figured that was at best a fifty-percent chance. One way or another, for better or for worse, my head wasn't screwed on in quite the same way any more.

It didn't take any kind of slow-motion self consideration to realise I wasn't the same physically. Being able to perform the insane bullshit that was The Six Powers, _let alone_ mimic Gear Second, was a physical impossibility back on Earth. My body would have exploded before coming anywhere close. Yet here I was, moving so damn fast that I was leaving a solid corridor in the ash as I ran. It hadn't even started closing behind me yet.

No, my body was made of sterner stuff now. I had a physiology that I could only describe as 'anime bullshit', which I was certain I owed to that God. It _was_ a debt, too - without the upgrade to my physical resilience, I'd have died on my first day.

Still, the gift of my ridiculous body had come at the price of my psyche. I wasn't quite sure if I knew myself anymore, I couldn't be certain that I was the same David Robinson who died in that car crash. I was so quick to anger these days, reached for violence so easily, discarded my long-held intent to keep the plot as intact as possible without nary a regret. I had a mindset that was almost frighteningly similar to an anime character.

So as I ran into Hell with every intention of finding out just how hard a God Slayer could be hit before they went down for good, I couldn't help but wonder…' _What have I become?'_

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

A battle-cry ripped its way from David's throat as he appeared in front of Zancrow. Such was the degree to which he had sped himself up it actually went up almost a full octave. Zancrow didn't get to mention anything about the decidedly feminine new range though. He was too busy dealing with the glowing blue fist that had just implanted itself in his stomach.

He didn't even flinch away from the inhuman punch though. Instead he laughed loudly, the sound more of a howl than an expression of mirth. Grabbing the wrist and forearm that had just struck him he yelled "That's more like it!" before beginning to spin. The Speed Mage was dragged along with the motion until the God Slayer let him go, flinging him into the air with a class hammer-throw. Zancrow tracked his opponent with his face, opening his mouth and taking a deep breath. " **Fire God's-"**

In a streak of blue light David vanished from the sky. He reappeared right in front of Zancrow once again and immediately lashed out at his exposed throat. The God Slayer choked, his hands rising to grab at his throat. In doing so, he left himself completely open to David's next strike.

His leg rose with all the speed he was capable of channelling. Through the non-existent defence around the God Slayer's legs, up past his legs, on toward his abdomen. But it didn't go up towards the face, the throat, the arms or the chest. Instead it went for the highest value target in easy reach.

Zancrow was kicked so hard in the balls that he rose three feet into the air.

He didn't just shrug _that_ off. Instead, he screamed in a pitch that could have made glass vibrate and collapsed when he returned to the ground. Clutching his groin and curling on himself, his scream eventually segued into a stream of threats. Threats in a voice an octave higher than his usual tones to be exact. "WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU? WHO THE HELL KICKS SOMEONE IN THE NUTS IN THE MIDDLE OF A FUCKING FIGHT!?"

"Me." David replied simply. His voice was higher too - but it was the run-together high pitch of someone speaking in fast-forward.

"WELL _FUCK_ YOU!" Zancrow replied, catching a glimpse of the Speed Mage. He almost seemed to be vibrating in place, making it difficult to get a proper look at him. But Zancrow's senses were a cut above the norm.

There was little to no expression on David's face. There was focus and there was tension, but Zancrow could barely even see the anger bubbling away beneath the surface. The tension became more prominent as the Speed Mage took a massive breath and the pulses of magic running along the veins in his arms became more frequent. The corona of blue light around his arms began to spike outward and fluctuate, the limbs within following suit until they vibrated into nothing more than a blur. " **Blazing Blue-"**

Zancrow quickly shuffled himself around on the ground, glaring up at his opponent. "Now wait just a fucking minu-!"

" **-OVERDRIVE!"**

There ceased to be anything resembling empty space between the two mages. Instead, there was an almost solid mass of semi-translucent fists that each sought a new home in Zancrow's body. Punches flew so fast that thousands seemed to occur in each blink of the eye - and they were _nothing_ like the blows Zancrow had been dealt so far.

The constant vibration of his arms had upped the energy of the strikes even further than the Gear Second technique had already done. As they struck, all that extra energy became force - and Zancrow experienced every iota. Dirt was pushed aside as the God Slayer was forced down, the loose ash and soil fountaining out to the sides when it couldn't move quickly enough. When dirt became stone, repeated abuse via the Zancrow jack-hammer pulverized the solid material into dust and it followed the dirt into the air.

Zancrow grit his teeth and endured as best he could. He was actually feeling these punches, unlike the weak fare from earlier. There was rage and purpose in every blow - he could feel them as clear as day. A growl of frustration rose from his battered chest. Normally an opponent like this would have him up and fighting no matter what, but the throbbing pain in his crotch was proving to be a serious distraction.

Still, he couldn't just lie still and take it. He began to raise his hands. Black flames burst into life on the appendages and he moved to ward off his opponent so he could get back on his feet-

Then a single foot blurred in and out, once again reducing Zancrow's world to unimaginable agony. ' _He keeps kicking me in the dick!'_ He whined to himself. ' _Why? Why does he keep kicking me in the dick?!'_ His distraction allowed his black flames to sputter out. A frustrated scream of pain and rage tried to tear its way free of Zancrow's mouth but found itself stifled by another's hand.

A hand clamped over the sharp-toothed mouth of the God Slayer, David stopped his punches, set himself and _heaved._ Zancrow was ripped from the hole like a missile - and also like a missile he was launched heavenward. His hair streamed out from around his back as he flew straight upwards, easily reaching thrice the height of the church-steeple he'd climbed earlier in only seconds.

Even through the rushing wind and across the dividing distance he could hear a distant shout of " **TEMPEST KICK!"**. He wasn't stupid enough to let David get a free hit in. Gathering his focus, he conjured black flames to his hands once more and thrust them to his side. The physical force he had imparted to the magic sent him recoiling sideways - just in time for him to avoid the glowing blue edge that scythed a path through the ashy atmosphere.

His hair wasn't so lucky. Nearly half of his mane's length was removed as cleanly as if it had never been attached at all. It held together for a moment in mid-air then scattered every which way.

Zancrow had started off amused. Then he'd become irritated. Then he'd gotten pissed off. Now…

His pupils shrank to pinpricks. Black flames boiled up in his throat and spilled out over his lips. The air itself began to burn where it touched his skin - and Zancrow the God-Slayer reached the point of Wrath.

His hands vanished behind the black inferno that erupted in their palms. Each took on a roughly spherical shape as they began to grow rapidly. As gravity re-asserted itself, those same spheres reared back with Zancrow's arms.

What should have been a shout of his attack's name bore more resemblance to the roaring of a mad beast. " **FIRE GOD'S-"**

David had the sense to start launching himself backwards away from where Zancrow was going to touch down. He made it halfway across the village before the madman's fists touched the earth. " **-EPICENTER!"**

For all the speed that Gear Second had given David, the blast-front proved to be faster. The instant Zancrow's burning fists touched the ground a titanic wave of fire erupted forth and began a whole new swathe of devastation. The suddenly explosion of heat created an eruption of moving air that scattered the heavy clouds of ash and smoke for miles around, leaving the area around the village's ruins mostly clear. That wave of almost pure force slammed into David and took him off his feet, rattling him around and disorienting him.

Then the fire came.

Everything it touched burned away. _Everything._ Rock glowed cherry-red and melted into liquid. Soil fused into something like glass as any trace of biological material within it went up in flames. Shards of glass became molten, wooden splinters became ash. Nothing remained where the flames passed but hellish ruins. When they reached David, the black flames hit the corona of his magic and died quickly - they burned through their ethernano supply and the air molecules at such an accelerated rate the wave passed over him with only glancing results.

Despite that, he was still airborne for nearly ten seconds before crashing down to the ground - thankfully outside the perimeter of the glassed area. He bounced as he landed and kept doing so for a fair distance, his shirt burning away in moments and its last remnants torn away by the repeated impacts.

When he finally came to a halt he didn't move. His mouth was full of blood. Burns and bruises covered more of his torso than any healthy skin, though the outside of his arms had at least protected his face. Pain eclipsed just about every other sense - and in those moments where the outside world momentarily went away…

The anger took its opportunity.

The world through David's eyes was already tinted blue by his magic. Now, that tint began to darken. The light that was passing through the space in front of him was blue-shifting, just like the corona that surrounded him. The grass around where he lay shrivelled and died before it became dust. The air around him accelerated as it entered the corona and created a chaotic sphere of winds that flattened the grass for meters around.

To David, getting to his feet was a slow, painful task. To Zancrow, it was accomplished so quickly the Speed Mage went from horizontal and vertical in the time of a blink.

Eyes that had sunk from blue into violet and seemed to be darkening even further rose. They met Zancrow's bloody red as the God Slayer charged from the glassy hell that had once been a home. Black flames streamed from the monster's fists and between his teeth; a twisted madness filled his eyes and the twist of his mouth.

David seemed to twitch and suddenly he was standing differently. There was more of a lean to him, a set of his feet like he was bracing himself for something.

His arms shot forward. The corona of magic surrounding them began to spiral of its own accord and the limbs themselves began to move in circles. The rotation started off as a blur and swiftly passed into something more than that, the stage where it almost seemed like you could track the object. As the spin grew faster and faster, the air around the limbs began to visibly distort with the mess of wind currents forming there.

As Zancrow closed the distance between them, David took a deep breath. Then he _screamed_ his technique for the world to hear. " **DIVINE SANDSTORM!"**

The miniature tornados that had encompassed David's arms exploded forward as he threw two punches simultaneously. The tangled knot of currents quickly resolved themselves into a single, more powerful form and began to grow. Earth and grass were sucked up into the vortex as it careened forward at a rate no natural tornado could have accomplished, traces of violet lightning playing in the wind. The blades of grass were then quickly shredded, reduced to almost nothing amid a vortex with teeth.

Zancrow didn't bat an eye or slow down at all. Black fire sped up his arms to cover him bodily in a kind of shield. As he dashed forward to meet the natural disaster, the flames grew larger and more ferocious. Then the God Slayer's foot came down hard enough that the dirt around his foot was displaced in a wave and he was launched forwards quickly enough to blur from most people's view. The flames around him twisted and spun as he flew, forming a rotating point right above his head and more spewed from his feet to propel him forwards. " **Fire God's Spear!"**

The two attacks met head-on and began to struggle. The air in the tornado was moving so quickly it formed an almost solid resistance, just as Zancrow's propulsion prevented him from simply falling away. The black fire fed on the oxygen in the tornado and in turn protected its maker from the blades that he hadn't noticed before trying to leap through the natural disaster.

Even through the animalistic rage that Zancrow felt, he was able to realize David had somehow filled the tornado with Tempest Kick blades. He let out a mad howl in response, flooding his feet with magic. The flames propelling him almost tripled in size instantly, overwhelming the resistance of the tornado's outer wall and sending the God Slayer rocketing through the attack. As he pushed through the flames around him weakened and allowed the blades within the tornado to reach him. Hundreds of small cuts and abrasions began to appear all over the God Slayer.

They did about as much as flicking peas at a professional wrestler.

Zancrow's head slammed into David's torso with the kind of force usually attributed to missiles. The closest ribs to the point of impact broke so close together that only David, whose perceptions were still accelerated, could know the order they snapped in. Then physics caught up and almost all Zancrow's momentum became David's, sending the Speed Mage flying once again.

He only flew a couple of meters at best, however, before Zancrow's flames lashed out and coiled around all four of David's limbs, hoisting him into the air like a marionette. The fire immediately began to burn the skin it was wrapped around - a new note in the symphony of agony drowning out David's sense of touch.

"Finally!" Zancrow laughed. It was a horrid, high-pitched chorus that screamed of malice. "You ain't going anywhere now, you worthless fly!" He stalked towards the suspended Speed Mage, menace in every step. "I'm gonna rip you to pieces. Then, I'm gonna burn those pieces 'till there's nothing left!" He stood right in front of David, looking into his eyes. The God Slayer didn't have pupils - he had burning pits in the center of his eyes. " **Doesn't that sound like** _ **fun?!"**_

David couldn't give a reply. Pain had locked his jaw shut and thrown away the key. "I think…" Zancrow mused, "that I'm gonna start...with _**this."**_

David's sight wasn't the best at that moment. Between the tint of his magic and the pain that clouded his vision, he was mostly seeing shapes. But he could still see well enough to register the three fingers Zancrow jammed into his right eye socket up until the moment all vision failed on that side of his face. Then there was a horrific _jolting_ feeling as something was ripped free, and a whole new ice-pick of agony stabbed its way into the Speed Mage's brain.

David's screams went unheard beneath Zancrow's roaring laughter as he crushed the still-sparking eye in his fist.

The laughter cut off a second later though, when the black flames around David's wrists and ankles suddenly reared up like snakes and slammed into their creator, launching him away from David. The Speed Mage collapsed to the ground, blood leaking from his empty eye-socket. The crackling cloak of the Gear Second sparked, guttered and died as pain finally succeeded in overruling anger. Blood began to leak from the corner of his mouth as the recoil caught up with him.

Zancrow got to his feet quickly and his eyes locked onto a humanoid figure in the inferno. The first adjective that came to his mind was 'ninja'; the sword on his belt, the black-and-white hair, the robes - they created a certain image. But it was far from a cool, collected expression that he wore.

Horror, the light of a torch buried beneath a mountain of shadow. Protectiveness, the roar of a bonfire amidst dark woods. But brightest of all was Wrath, the flame that would devour the universe.

This was the expression of the fire-shrouded Totomaru. " _Get your filthy_ fucking _hands off. My. FRIEND!"_

That was about the point where every remaining flame in the ruins of the village rushed together into a cohesive mass and rammed into Zancrow like a nuclear missile.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

The force behind the fire's concussive wave-front would have taken most people off their feet so hard their bones broke. Its blazing fury would have melted the flesh from their bones like wax before reducing said bones to piles of ash.

Zancrow didn't move so much as an inch.

The innate resistance granted to him by his status as a Fire God Slayer allowed him to shrug off the extreme temperatures like most people would shrug off lukewarm water. His physical stature allowed him to remain grounded in the face of what amounted to a large truck hitting him head-on. Both of these together meant that he stood within the inferno with an expression that was almost amused. After all, if the Speed Mage had put up such a fight Zancrow would have expected that his backup would be just as strong, if not stronger.

But a _Fire Mage_? Zancrow ate Fire Mages for breakfast - _sometimes literally._

The sphere of roiling flames that had engulfed Zancrow began to noticeably shrink only moments after forming. They twisted and churned, pulling inwards as they began to coalesce into a single stream. That stream was then pulled towards the very centre of the sphere as Zancrow began to devour the flames themselves.

The fire was sucked from the surrounding atmosphere at an astonishing rate. As it disappeared down the God Slayer's throat, however, their luminescence was replaced by a new source of light. Zancrow himself began to glow with dark magical power, the amount increasing as he ate. Only seconds after he had begun there wasn't so much as an ember remaining to be seen.

"Ah!" Zancrow exhaled happily. "Now _that's_ what I call a fucking _meal!"_ Magical power seemed to leak from his every pore, causing the world around him to shimmer in a heat haze and the dark light he was extruding to bend and waver. "I'm all revved up now!"

Totomaru grit his teeth as he did his best to keep his attention on the enemy mage. It was more difficult than he'd have expected - the tempestuous mix of anger and protectiveness he was containing at that moment didn't lend themselves to focus. Still, he kept an eye on the God Slayer as he sprinted for David's downed form - and he _thought. 'He's a Slayer Mage, just like Gajeel - and he eats fire, so that makes this twice as bad for_ both _of us. I'm not sure I can beat this guy, so the only option left is to get the hell out of he-'_

Totomaru finally got close enough to David to make out the details of his condition. Totomaru switched his gaze to his fallen friend. Totomaru, mentally and physically, _froze._

His best friend - the person he could tell anything and everything, who got exasperated with him but never looked at him like he was just the Element Four's joke of a mascot - looked as close to death as anyone Totomaru had ever seen draw breath. His shirt was gone, exposing a torso that, where it wasn't burned red or black, was a solid purple bruise. The outside of his arms were likewise and the skin on his knuckles had torn away. Worst of all though was the dark, empty socket in his skull where his eye used to be. Now, instead of the bright blue orb it had once held, it emitted a mix of blood and tears that stained his cheek and the earth upon which the Speed Mage lay.

The only real sign he was still alive were the convulsions. Small, obviously painful motions that wracked his body.

If Totomaru listened closely, he could just about hear the wheezy sobs.

Thoughts of his own safety, thoughts of running away, thoughts of _anything but the certain murder of the man behind him_ were thrown on the bonfire of Totomaru's heart. His magic roared in him like a mad beast as his heartbeat pounded in his ears. A pain in his hands informed him that he'd clenched his fists so hard he'd punctured the skin of his palms with his fingernails.

Part of him was still thinking, though, even as he began to turn with an expression it would have made his Guild Master proud to witness. ' _I can't win this. David's a way better hand-to-hand fighter than I am; if_ he _couldn't beat this bastard at close range I'll have no chance. But close range is how this is going to end up; after all, he'll realise he can't get me with fire attacks eventually - and if_ I _try to use attacks from range, he'll just eat everything I send his-'_

If Totomaru had any idea of what a lightbulb was, one would have gone off in his head. ' _That's it!'_

" **Fire God's-"**

Totomaru took in a lot of things at once. The tone of Zancrow's voice, the stance he'd taken, the dark flames leaking from the corners of his mouth. He recalled the several times he'd sparred with (read: gotten his ass kicked by) Gajeel.

Another thought made it through his **UNYIELDING RAGE.** ' _Shit.'_

" **-BELLOW!"**

Totomaru's view of Zancrow was instantly eclipsed by a stream of black fire. No, 'stream' didn't do it justice - a _tsunami_ of flaming magic that seemed to instantly eat away the horizon and rapidly encroach on the sky as it approached Totomaru. It totally eclipsed the attack Zancrow had used on David, and even a Fire Mage like Totomaru felt its heat as it approached.

Still, he stood his ground, grit his teeth and raised his hands. A magic circle burst into life over his palms as he pointed them at the onrushing tide of flaming death, and he applied his own will to the miniature apocalypse.

Immediately, the wave-front of the attack began to split. One face became two as the tsunami became two rivers, each flowing to one side of Totomaru and David. The two mages remained safe within a completely fire-free zone at the centre of the black torrent and Totomaru breathed a sigh of relief for a moment. Then, he snapped his fingers. Another magic circle appeared, red this time, and the black flames instantly dissipated into thin air.

Just in time to reveal a Zancrow that had reached the stage of being _absolutely livid._

A bestial, murderous howl erupted from the God Slayer's throat at volumes usually achieved by concert-grade loudspeakers. Flames that managed to make his former creations look like candles in both colouration and intensity burst to life in his palms. Then he began to run forward, cratering the earth beneath his feet as he dashed toward Totomaru, quite prepared to turn him inside out the long way for his insolence.

Totomaru managed to keep his cool in the face of a sight that would cause lesser men to scream and run at best. Admittedly he was screaming a lot internally, but it was drowned out by the roar of his magic's flames. He thrust his hand out once again, summoning a red magic circle. ' _Not enough.'_

He began to force more magic into his spell. As he did so, gaining impetus as Zancrow began to draw closer, the circle over his hand grew. From the size of his palm, to the size of his torso, to the size of his whole body, to twice that and then to _thrice_ that. Finally feeling that Zancrow was getting too close and he himself too tired, Totomaru chose that moment to loose the spell. " **Green Fire!"**

The red circle flashed over to green in an instant. Then it vanished beneath a tide of emerald fire that just about matched Zancrow's Bellow. Magical plasma the colour of carefully-polished gemstones slammed into Zancrow head-on with a great deal more force than the mundane flames Totomaru had weaponised before. They actually managed to bring him to a dead halt as they matched his charge. They they overcame it just a bit, sending him stumbling back a couple of steps as his own flames guttered in the flood and died.

Once he had his balance back, the God Slayer looked up - perfectly unharmed despite the green hell that had surrounded him - and _laughed._ "This is it? _Another_ fire attack? You must be _really FUCKING stupid_ if you think that shit's gonna work on me!" Then, with another laugh, he opened his mouth once more and began to inhale.

Just like the first sphere of flames, the virulently green fire surrounding Zancrow was broken away from Totomaru's control instantly. It rapidly drew together into a singular stream that poured its way down Zancrow's throat. As it did so, the God Slayer's magical power began to rise to even greater heights. He was barely visible behind the waves of heat that were distorting the air around him while simultaneously he seemed to be standing in front of a black back-drop so dark was the aura he exuded.

He _did_ wonder why the flames were so weird-tasting. He pushed the thought aside, however, in favour of absorbing more magic. The earth beneath his feet began to dry out and crumble as he stood on it.

Totomaru saw all this - but he didn't stop. He kept up the attack, forcing yet more of his magical power into the spell. Green flames continued to pour forth from his magic circle and be almost instantly consumed by the God Slayer. Then, finally, he let out a ragged gasp and cut off the spell. The magic circle shattered and Totomaru put his hands on his knees. ' _Damn...that one attack used almost all my magic power…'_ It was worth it, though.

The plan had worked _perfectly._

Zancrow howled with laughter once more, his grin splitting his face from ear to ear as he swallowed the last of the fire. "You fucking _moron!_ Who the fuck is stupid enough to use all their magic in one fire spell _against a Fire God Slayer?!"_ He almost seemed to flex his magical power, the black aura pulsing and heating the air around him so much it stopped distorting entirely. "I've gotta thank you, though. You've brought me back up to a hundred percent of my magical power! Now killing you two flies will be _even easier!"_

Totomaru smirked. "Well, to your simple mind it mind look like that...but really, the truth is exactly opposite." He straightened himself, grinning a smug, cocksure grin. "You fell right into my trap, you bastard. _I win._ "

Zancrow raised an eyebrow. "The hell do you mean?"

Totomaru flipped his hair a bit, ending in a position where his fringe overshadowed his face. He tucked his left hand into his pocket and raised his right arm to point at Zancrow. He formed a pistol shape with the fingers of his right hand. " **You are already dead."**

The God Slayer blinked. "What-"

Then the nausea hit him.

It was so overwhelmingly powerful and came with such a lack of warning that the God Slayer immediately staggered as his balance was skewed. In the next second, as the following wave made it _worse,_ he fell to one knee gasping as the world began to spin away.

A whole spectrum of things began to happen to Zancrow in very quick succession. First came the nausea, in ever-worsening waves. Then his skin paled to the colour of an anemic ghost. A cold sweat broke out all over his skin - it evaporated moments later in the waves of heat he was putting off, but it still appeared. His breaths began to become pants as each one didn't seem to give him enough oxygen. His stomach cramped at that point, and between that and the nausea he abruptly vomited.

What came up was _way_ too much blood for the God Slayer to be comfortable having outside his body.

Fear and horror were feelings that Zancrow had seldom experienced in his life. He'd inflicted more than most people could ever dream of, but had never really _felt_ them. Now, however, they were _all_ he could feel. He had no clue what was happening to him or why; he was at his most powerful, yet he was hurt. He was _bleeding_. Nothing made sense - and in that uncertainty, Zancrow the Mad God Slayer felt honest fear.

Between bouts of vomiting up blood and trying desperately to supply his body with the oxygen it was screaming for, he managed to sputter a question. " _W...what the...h…hell?!"_

Totomaru laughed. It wasn't a nice sound. "You Slayer Mages may be some of the most powerful people in the world, but you're all _really_ predictable. I knew that if I attacked with fire magic you'd just eat it." A slasher grin split the Fire Mage's face. "So I used my Green Fire - or as I like to call it, _**Emerald Venom.**_ I didn't actually know if you'd taste the poison though, so I masked the taste." He chuckled, shaking his head. "Who'd have thought that anti-Dragon-Slayer tactic Jose made me think up would come in handy…"

He looked back up, meeting Zancrow's eyes. The smile vanished from his face - the most emotion on his face now were the burning pits in his eyes. "If my math's right, you just consumed roughly fifty times the amount that it would take to kill a mage. God Slayer or not...you've got a few minutes to live."

Zancrow listened to the explanation - to the laughter. He kept his eyes glued to Totomaru's face as best he could through the chaos of his blurry, spinning vision. It was all enough to drive his anger to the surface, to raise it high enough that it stood level with fear. Then he saw the damn, smug smirk that pulled at the corners of the Fire Mage's mouth.

Once again, fury trumped fear.

Zancrow launched himself at Totomaru with all the strength he had remaining, screaming an animalistic roar all the way. There was no time for the Fire Mage to dodge. Zancrow's leg impacted his right arm, a lucky connection more than anything with the havoc that the poison was wreaking on the God Slayer's body, and Totomaru's limb snapped in an instant.

Totomaru hit the ground with a scream and Zancrow followed him. Tracking almost entirely be sound rather than the blurry images that were all he could see, the God Slayer began to punch with everything he had, practically foaming at the mouth as his eyes blazed.

What followed couldn't even really be described as a 'beat-down'. Every punch that Zancrow threw broke and bruised what it hit. Totomaru's vision became tinted with bloody red before even ten seconds had passed.

Zancrow roared as he struck, constantly ramping up the speed of his blows as anger fed him. His body was breaking down around him yet he still fought on. He was sustained almost singularly by the wish to bludgeon Totomaru to death, and the flames that sparked to life in his palms were a result of that. Burns began rapidly adding themselves to Totomaru's expanding list of injuries.

Nothing could stop him. Nothing could distract him. Zancrow's one and only thought was to beat the life from Totomaru as his last act on Earthland.

Or, that _was_ the case - until a strangled war-cry ripped its way through the air around where the village had once stood. Something about its tone pierced the red fog in Zancrow's mind enough to make him turn around...and through his distorted vision, he saw purple.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

David had managed to stand up.

Somehow, even though he was closer to death than he'd been except when he actually died, he had managed to get to his feet. Something...something had roused him. What had it been again? There was...a sound…

 _Thud._ Flesh-on-flesh. That was familiar...and there was that screaming, that animalistic expression of rage…

He shuffled around - and the first thing to greet him was the sight of Zancrow trying to kill his best friend. ' _...Move.'_

His injuries should have made standing a physical impossibility. Taking a step was so far outside his abilities the distance could only be measured in light years. Pain was the one and only thing he could feel; it buzzed in his ears and muted sound, it occluded the sight in his one good eye. ' _...I've got to move.'_

He only had half his field of view now. His right eye was gone, crushed into nothingness by Zancrow. The vision from his remaining eye barely deserved to be called such. ' _...He's gonna kill him.'_

Most of his magic was spent. He'd recouped some of it, but at a rough estimate he had perhaps twenty percent of his overall capacity still remaining. ' _...I-'_

Part of him had already accepted that everything was over. It couldn't be otherwise - he was a complete wreck, Totomaru was down and Zancrow wasn't dying fast enough.

He could remember, just vaguely, that he'd made a promise to himself when he'd been reborn. That he had sworn he would never be the cause of another person's death, not even through inaction. That so long as he could stop it he would never allow another life to end as his had done. Well, that promise was kind of fucked, now - he'd made an honest effort to kill Zancrow after all - but the spirit remained. Maybe the letter should have been ' _innocent_ person', but fuck it. He'd never been good at forward planning.

A series of faces flashed past in his mind's eye. Friends, acquaintances, the family from... _before._ But more recently, the people he'd met on jobs - the ones who'd made requests, the ones who'd helped as best they could, excitable Mai and calm old Iroh. The people he worked with, the people he spoke with every day, the friends whose respect he'd had to earn. ' _...I haven't-'_

Friends...no. Not just friends. _Family._ Aria, Sol, Gajeel, Totomaru... _Juvia._ The people that loved him, cared for him, teased him.

One of them was laying in front of him. They were bloodied and battered, about to die. His enemy was still attacking him, driving his brother closer and closer to death. David was the only person who could help. He was dead on his feet, but if he passed on now, what would happen to his family?

There was no need to think about it - because there was _no way in_ _ **hell that was GOING TO HAPPEN.**_

' _I HAVEN'T COME THIS FAR TO DIE HERE!'_

Far too many emotions to count erupted as one and set David's heart alight. The screaming roar that carried them into the open air erupted into from his throat, and at the same time his magical container spun into overdrive.

Magic that had started at blue, risen into violet and then taken the plunge into full-on purple flooded out of him. As it crackled around him, most of it concentrated on his right arm, completely over-saturating it with magic. Each and every vein or artery in the limb began to shine from within, pulsing so fast they were like rivers of light. The crackling arcs of Speed Magic shot from the limb like the lightning they so resembled, striking the ground around him. Chunks of earth were suddenly accelerated and bounced into the air. Grass withered and died, turned to dust and was processed as nutrients for the new blades that grew in its place. Dirt dried out as if there had been no rain for decades and decayed into sand.

Then traces of purple shot down to the Speed Mage's legs, and he was off. Coruscating purple trailed behind him while the jetstream shot off in every which way at completely ridiculous velocities. A glowing corona of air surrounded the Speed Mage as he ran, the molecules unable to get of the way in time and burning as they were dragged across the surface of the crackling aura.

David's right arm reared back - and once again, he _roared._

" _ **VIRGINIA-"**_

The sound barrier took one look at the incoming fist and shat itself. Zancrow might well have done the same - but if he did, no-one noticed with the way his face seemed to suddenly turn itself inside-out as the fist slammed home.

" _ **-SMASH!"**_

The sonic boom slammed home _much_ less than a second later. The one Zancrow made as he flew away was only a little bit behind.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Somehow, someway, Zancrow managed to keep enough of his brains intact to react. His hands dug into the ground, the skin tearing off in places as he dumped the full energy of supersonic travel in moments. His fingers broke in the process.

He didn't seem to notice.

Still, he couldn't manage to get his body moving after that punch. Only momentum and sheer rage had kept him fighting with all the damage that the poison had done to him already, and he'd just lost his momentum. Zancrow was dying - and he _knew_ it.

He _also_ knew that he'd be damned if he didn't take those mages with him.

All the magical power that Zancrow yet possessed, which was actually a bit _more_ than his normal full reserves, coalesced in his throat. The black light that was emitted through the skin of his throat and cheeks was bright enough to encompass the entire glassed area that had once been Heiwana Village.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

On the opposite side of the town David screamed once more - this time out of more pain than raw emotion.

His mangled right arm hung uselessly at his side. The force he'd put through it was apparently more than his magic's ability to neutralise resistive or reactive forces could deal with, judging by the massive number of places it had broken in.

The only thing that his failing vision could register was the black light that eclipsed the town. As its bright shadow fell over him, however, he came to an understanding. ' _It's over. Zancrow's gonna nuke this place with one last attack, and I'm gonna die. Totomaru is gonna die, and-and-'_

Even if you lose your eyes, you can still cry. David proved that with the paths of almost clear skin that appeared on his cheeks as water carried his blood away.

The maelstrom of emotions that were choking the Speed Mage came to an instant halt when something wrapped softly around his leg. Looking down as he blinked the tears away from his working eye, he was able to make out Totomaru's bloody, smiling face.

It spoke to the friendship between the two mages that no words needed to pass between them. The light in Totomaru's eyes told David all he needed to know. So he dragged his left hand across his face then whipped it around, shaking his head and closing his good eye.

When he re-opened it, his vision was...well, not _clear_ , but not _completely_ fucked.

Both of the mages took deep breaths and held them. Their expressions settled into stone-cold visages of concentration. Then their magic came forth.

Two points of light began to form in the overpowering black glow that had encompassed the battlefield. One red, one blue, their brightness was enough to shine even in the consuming luminescence of Zancrow's magic. But where they mingled, at the point where Totomaru's hand was wrapped around David's leg - _there_ , it was different.

Red and blue light met and coiled around one another, twisting ever-tighter until they merged into a single purple blaze. The two magics began to resonate, building on one another and increasing in strength until the purple light grew large enough to push back the black glow.

Two voices were raised as one, yelling loud enough to be heard even over the roars of magic.

" **My speed is unmatched-"**

" **-and my flames are untamed."**

"" **TOGETHER, THERE IS NOTHING WE CAN'T OVERCOME!""**

The purple light that had engulfed the two Phantom Lord Mages exploded outwards into a cylinder that reached for the sky. That one cylinder then began to change in a ripple, a wave of colours washing through it and re-painting it until what remained was a rainbow, wrapped around so its ends touched at purple. Then it began to spin.

The colours melted into one another as the cylinder spun, pulling in on itself even as the streaks of colour merged into what would have been white if it weren't still possible to pick out the various colours within it somehow. As the shape grew tighter, a single blazing point of white shot up from the ground within it to the ceiling where the magic curved inwards. David Robinson touched the very crown of the spiral in a rising corkscrew, and seemed to be caught up in the magic just as it became caught up in him. When he flipped over so too did the spiralling column of rainbow light - and when he kicked off, the entire spell streaked forward like the largest drill in the world.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Across the site of the village, one more voice was raised. Another chant, with a single voice that should have been far too weak to produce the kind of volumes it did.

" **An unstoppable blaze, capable of razing the Heavens themselves.** _ **This**_ **is the power I hold!**

" **THE STRENGTH TO KILL GODS!"**

Zancrow breathed his last - and with that breath came death. It soared on wings as black as the abyss between dead stars. Its heart was so seemingly infinite that to gaze too long at it would eventually make you wonder if, should you look just a _little_ closer, that imagined spark of colour might not be the back of your own head.

It should have been loud - as loud as a fire that could devour the world, as loud as an apocalypse, as loud as the horn that ushers in the end of days...but it wasn't. It was completely silent.

This fire fed on sound.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

In the sky above what had once been Heiwana village, two forces arose.

One, a torrent of rainbow light that swirled together into a white drill. As it passed through the air it screamed and roared, burning up that which stood before it and reforging it anew. It remade instead of destroying, and at its very peak was the outstretched fist of David Robinson, S-Class Mage of Phantom Lord.

The other, a nebulous mass of infinitely black flame that took no shape. Where the air touched it the molecules came apart as their bonds were broken for sustenance. The constituent particles, too, were broken apart and burned up. Nothing remained in its path - not air, not sound, not light. _Certainly_ not life, as it left behind it the form of Zancrow, who spoke his last words in a scream of defiance even as the light was guttering in his eyes.

" _ **UNISON RAID:**_ " / " _ **SECRET GOD SLAYER TECHNIQUE:"**_

" _ **SWIRLING SPECTRUM!"**_

" _ **DIVINE DOWNFALL BELLOW!"**_

The attacks touched...and in the beginning, there was light.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

For the first twenty seconds of the struggle, neither technique seemed able to gain ground. David urged the Unison Raid spell onward with all he had left, just as the monstrosity Zancrow had conjured as his last act raced forward with a silent, implacable wish to leave nothing in its wake. The glassed area below them shattered into a trillion fragments and was swept up into the winds; they sparkled as they spun in the rainbow drill, or died an ugly death in the curtains of black flame.

After that time passed, though, Zancrow's technique seemed to gain ground. Its constant waves of darkness ate away at the light of the Unison Raid, swallowing the stars and the colours. Its mass loomed over the glowing star of a weapon, as if prepared to roll over it in one giant wave and devour it whole-

Then David drew back his one good arm and let fly.

The spiralling spell suddenly packed itself in tighter, becoming less of a grand drill and more of a needle. Its spin doubled in speed just as its rear flared with all the brightness of a supernova, and the mage at its tip screamed just as loudly in the face of death as his friend on the ground did in support.

The black flames, spread too thin, didn't stand a _chance._

The drill pierced through in less than a second. It erupted from the tide of infinite darkness with all the beautiful ferocity of the rising sun, its course taking it straight to the heart of the technique.

So it came to be that the life of Zancrow, the Mad God Slayer, was ended by David Robinson and Totomaru. His end came neither in fire nor in fist, but rather in both - for as the Speed Mage fell from the sky as the head of a spear that seemed ready to pierce through Earthland itself and emerge on the other side to attack the heavens, and his fist punched _through_ Zancrow's torso and out the other side, the God Slayer experienced the one thing he never thought he would.

 **Burning.**

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

When the Rune Knights arrived, they discovered what could only be termed a wasteland. Nothing remained of Heiwana village or its surroundings; all that could be seen for miles in any direction was scorched earth.

Eventually though, they discovered something else. At the epicentre of the devastation, in a crater lined with glass fused from the earth itself, lay three bodies.

The first two were suffering from more injuries than anyone had any reason to survive, but were recognisable as the two mages who had accepted the job. They were both comatose and rightly so, given their conditions - certainly they were in dire need of medical attention..but they _were_ alive.

The same could not be said for the third. The corpse was mangled beyond anything most of the Knights had seen before. Horrifically burned though it was, there was still recognisably a massive hole in its torso.

The only identifier it possessed was half of a jagged heart design, tattooed at the edge of the gaping hole in the chest cavity. That, however, was enough to tell them - _this_ was the body of the monster that had been plaguing South-Western Fiore.

The two children that the Rune Knights had met on their way confirmed that for them.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

 **Authors Note**

 **I got nothin.**

 **(Reviews)**

 **Guest chapter 5 . Oct 11: The wait is over!**

 **Lightsbane1905: Gear Second has it's drawbacks, you'll be seeing more of that later.**

 **Rayzer: Everyone is looking forward to the Phantom Lord Arc, I plan to make it glorious!**

 **TheRangerBoy: It is pretty funny, right?**

 **Xanothos: Thanks Xan! I wanted to ram shit up to 11, so i thought that Zancrow was a great choice to do that with.**

 **Le Dergenbern: Shit DID just get real.**

 **TheRangerBoy: Juvia Vision is the way I look into hell. I mean how I get into writing for her!**

 **Willow: I'm crediting you with the idea for the Unison Raid. We talked about this for a WHILE.**

 **Exiled Soul Nomad: Ah, my favorite thing other than epic fight scenes, CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT!**

 **Blaze1992: He does. =D**

 **Greyjedi449t: Thanks!**

 **T3rum1: Yeah, I'm a fucking dick for that one.**

 **TheEdgiestOfEdgelords: Damnit it's not time magic…**

 **Guest chapter 5 . Oct 13: That was another option for naming.**

 **Ghostunderasheet: As I said before, I'm a dick who likes making cliffhangers.**

 **king gilgamesh chapter 5 . Oct 22: It really is a wakeup call.**

 **LordVishnu: A fellow david, excellent.**

 **jiubantai-taichoCalmejaneJose: I hate harems**

 **Lightstrider101: I also hate edgy fangirls who just want to bone the cast and fix all the issues and prevent any confilct.**

 **Oxob chapter 5 . Nov 10: I agree.**

 **(END OF REVIEWS)**

 **Brain hurt, words are hard to make go.**


	7. OMAKE: Thunderstruck

**(A.N) This is an omake that Teninshigen decided to write. All credit for this goes to him.**

 **[This is Non-cannon.]**

* * *

Totomaru panted as he ran as fast as his feet could carry him. As he did so, his mind raced alongside his body. He cursed his friend for running off ahead. He cursed the burning in his lungs. He cursed the distance between Heiwana Village and the Rune Knight station where they'd started.

At the same time, he prayed his friend hadn't bitten off more than he could chew. He prayed the village and its people could be saved. He looked forward to a fight, to a new chance to test himself.

But when the shadow rolled over him from behind, causing him to look over his shoulder, his thoughts stalled. His feet did too, causing him to topple forward and roll to a stop.

He didn't pay attention to his new bruises, though. He just stared up into the sky, at the source of the shadow, and his entire thought process amounted to one idea. ' _David...is one_ lucky bastard _.'_

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

"Finally!" Zancrow laughed. It was a horrid, high-pitched chorus that screamed of malice. "You ain't going anywhere now, you worthless fly!" He stalked towards the suspended Speed Mage, menace in every step. "I'm gonna rip you to pieces. Then, I'm gonna burn those pieces 'till there's nothing left!" He stood right in front of David, looking into his eyes. The God Slayer didn't have pupils - he had burning pits in the center of his eyes. " **Doesn't that sound like** _ **fun?!"**_

David couldn't give a reply. Pain had locked his jaw shut and thrown away the key. "I think…" Zancrow mused, "that I'm gonna start...with _**this."**_

David's sight wasn't the best at that moment. Between the tint of his magic and the pain that clouded his vision, he was mostly seeing shapes. But he could still see well enough to register the three fingers Zancrow was extending towards his right eye...and the shadow that suddenly seemed to roll over the village's remains.

That caught his attention as much as anything could. Had the clouds of ash and smoke returned? He couldn't quite crane his neck enough to check, but Zancrow could. The God Slayer turned his face upward to find the source of the sudden darkness.

He found himself looking up into a boiling cauldron of clouds so thick night may as well have fallen. It stretched from one side of the horizon to the other, blotting out all light. As he watched it continued to grow - marching inexorably forward until the entire sky was hidden by its nebulous abyss.

Lightning played in its depths as he watched the clearly magical storm swirl overhead. As the clouds began to congregate in a place directly above the God Slayer and his opponent, they were forced downward - creating a bulging shape.

Oddly enough, the longer Zancrow looked at the approaching mass of clouds, the more he thought he could make out facial features…

Thunder rolled. It made a sound like " **NO ONE MAY LAY HANDS ON DAVID-SAMA EXCEPT JUVIA!"**

Zancrow's eyes widened just as the roll-like curls of cloudy hair at the storm-face's sides opened eyes of crackling lightning. They pulled away from the main body of the storm with the _hiss_ of hurricane-force winds grinding against one another, opening black mouths wide as they lunged for the ground like serpents.

David was tossed aside in favour of Zancrow erupting into black flames and crouching down. Then, turning his face upward once more, the God Slayer leapt with a vicious laugh and his fists extended to do battle with the storm itself.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

David lay on his side taking as many shallow breaths as he could manage. The broken ribs impeded anything deeper, and he was having trouble gathering the will to stand up.

"David-sama…" A familiar voice murmured, as a blue-shaded shape appeared in his field of view. Kneeling down beside him, Juvia carefully brushed a hand over his face, clearing away blood, ash and sweat. "Juvia is sorry she didn't get here sooner."

"'S fine…" David managed to wheeze. "But, why're you here?"

"Juvia will always come when David-sama needs her." The Water-Woman said simply...before her cheeks starting turning red. "She is happy to serve at his whim and attend to his _every_ need…"

Something between a sigh and a chuckle managed to rasp its way out of David's throat. That explanation really _did_ say it all. Juvia would be Juvia. "Well, thanks." He told her, grinning a bit lop-sidedly. With a groan of effort and some help from Juvia, he managed to sit up and look around. "Where's Totomaru?" With a sudden flash of panic, he continued. "And where's Zancrow?!"

"The irresponsible interruption is being slow as usual..."

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Totomaru, who was doing his best to jog toward Heiwana in nigh-total darkness and under his own personal rainfall, sneezed.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

"And the scum who dared to lay hands on David-sama is over there."

David turned in the direction Juvia had indicated. For a moment, he couldn't see anything resembling the God Slayer. Then he realised that what he'd thought was rain was, in fact, a solid pillar of water stretching into the heavens.

No, not a pillar...a _vortex._

As he squinted, he caught a glimpse of a primarily-yellow form being whirled around its edges, trailing bubbles.

"That won't hold him forever." David grunted, making an effort to get back to his feet. "I've got to-"

"David-sama must stay here and rest with Juvia." The blunette stated simply, grabbing the Speed Mage by the shoulders and forcing his head down on to her lap. "David-sama has done enough already. Juvia will finish taking out the trash."

The blond hissed between his teeth as his ribs twinged. "But that guy's-"

"Juvia knows; Master Jose made her and the other Element Four members memorise many of the continent's most powerful Dark Mages just in case."

David blinked. "But you still think you can take him?"

Juvia smiled - and while to David it was a warm, loving expression, a shiver went down Zancrow's spine where he was still trapped in the miles-high whirlpool. "Juvia will certainly do her best."

The Water-Woman made to lay her precious one down carefully on the ground, but stopped. His hand had reached and taken hers. When she looked to his face, she found his eyes locked on her own, his usual bright blue gone electric with crackling magic. "Juvia," he told her, " _you've got this."_

A crackling corona of magic rose from his skin and flooded up his arm to their conjoined hands…

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Zancrow the God Slayer felt it as the speed of his spin increased. He continued with his multi-tasking of trying to boil away the water around him and hold his breath though, not willing to stop fighting. Even if the water was replacing itself from the storm more quickly than he could summon flames to evaporate it the Mage doing this had to run out of power _sometime._ Then, when he got his hands on them…

His toothy, malevolent smile faltered when he realised just how fast he was spinning now. He had never known what it felt like to have his internal organs all stuck against one wall of his chest cavity, but he did now - the vortex was spinning so fast it had levelled out into a disc, dragging him into the centre.

Thinking his job had just become easier, since there was less distance between himself and the maelstrom's surface, he redoubled his efforts to escape. Black flames burned even when submerged as they tried to boil away their confinement. This, unfortunately, meant that Zancrow didn't see the massive rush of blue sparks that played out across the clouds overhead. He didn't see the flashes of light within the cloud increase - nor the woman's face form once more in the darkness and the snake-like protrusions of cloud reform, this time lit from within with power.

He _did_ look up when the blue glow approached - and he was just in time to widen his eyes as several hours' worth of storm-grade electrical build-up discharged itself into the disc of water he was currently trapped within.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

A shock with a current of up to 0.2 Amperes can prove fatal to Earth humans. For an Earthland human, that ups to 0.3. For a Mage, a full Ampere. For Dragon Slayers and God Slayers (or the ones who don't eat electrons like other people eat sugar) that value can be anywhere between ten and fifteen Amperes.

Zancrow was hit with almost two-hundred million times that amount. Then the entire disc of water was superheated by the discharge and changed state in an instant, causing it to expand to more than forty times its volume in barely a few seconds. A bomb going off in his face would have been gentle by comparison.

When they eventually dug what remained of him out of ground, which took some doing considering the depth to which the remains had been propelled, the Rune Knights were shocked to discover a look of almost child-like awe on the God Slayer's ruined face. They had no idea that his last thought had been one of stupefied 'Holy _shit_ that's awesome!'.

What they _did_ know, was that they weren't going to be messing with the happy couple who had returned to Oak Town any time soon. Not when the attentive, demure young lady who had so carefully helped transport her battered compatriot away from the ruins of the village had struck down one of the continent's most powerful Dark Mages with the kind of wrath that brought Gods to mind.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

David Robinson was conspicuously absent from the 'Top Ten Mages You'd Want As Your Boyfriend' list come the next publication of Sorcerer Weekly. He was, however, number three on the 'Top Ten Mages We Wish Were Single' list.


	8. Screw Consequences, I have magic!

**Year X784**

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

 _The following is a collection of short stories showing significant events happening during the time between six months after David joining Phantom Lord and the beginning of the Guild War with Fairy Tail._

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

" _Short Interlude."_

 _3 Months Till Guild War_

If there was one feeling that Juvia hated above all others, it was loneliness. She'd had more than enough solitude in her life and she had no wish to experience any more.

It was that familiarity that made her despise the feeling so much.

It had been two months since Juvia swore to herself that she would put that part of her life behind her - that she wouldn't even think of it, instead turning her gaze towards a bright future with her David-sama. As far as she was concerned, the only parts of her life that now mattered began the day he'd pulled her from that abyss.

 _David-sama~_

She'd managed to train herself _not_ to swoon whenever thoughts of her beloved entered her mind. It was a gruelling, difficult task, but she had managed to accomplish it. Even though there were so many things about him which she adored - his roguish good looks, his heartwarming smile, his straightforward nature, his _divine figure that made Juvia want to just_ _ **rip**_ _his clothes off and-_

Juvia coughed, shaking her head to chase away the images. She enjoyed her fantasies, but having them cut into the time she could spend with the _real_ David-sama. Time of which she got almost as much as she could ever want, because David-sama was _hers!_ He had come to _her!_ Just thinking about him asking her to be his made her heart flutter whenever she brought it to mind.

Which was... _often._

Still, Juvia managed the monumental task of pushing aside thoughts of her beloved so she could focus on another, very important task. Namely, the ancient and arcane art of baking. In particular, a cake for her beloved!

Juvia was a rather good cook if she did say so herself (though her David-sama did as well). She'd practiced by making breakfast for David-sama every day she could. All of those meals were fairly simple though, and quite easy to prepare. They were nothing as complex as a full-size cake with decorations.

Still, she was 100% confident that if she put all of her love into it, the cake would be amazing! All the other food that she had made for David-sama had been the result of many hours of practice, hard work and, of course, lots and lots of love! A cake would be the perfect gift to celebrate David-sama becoming an S-Class mage.

Juvia had to admit, however, that the cake was proving to be a rather... _difficult_ ordeal. She vaguely wished that she'd found a recipe somewhere instead of deciding to get with her heart and just wing it.

Her kitchen looked like the site of a localised tornado. Flour was spread out over just about every counter and quite a few of the vertical surfaces. Bowls filled with various consistencies of batter were scattered everywhere, with a few even atop her cupboards. Dozens of measuring cups, filled to differing degrees with sugar and other powders, were stacked on top of the bowls, one another and just left balanced in precarious places.

Currently, Juvia was washing out a bowl to rid it of what had been intended as icing.

She let out a sigh. Baking a cake was simply more difficult than she'd thought it must be, considering how many people seemed to manage it. She gestured with her hand and a magic circle formed in front of her. A moment later, whips of water lashed out from the design and attacked the messy kitchen. Within seconds, all the flour had been washed away, the various bowls retrieved, cleaned and stacked, the measuring cups were scoured of their contents and all the utensils she's used were lined up on the counter before her.

The mass of dirty water all poured away down the sink, and Juvia sighed. ' _Juvia needs to go get a cookbook...a place to start should make this much easier…'_ Before she could go about _acquiring_ a cookbook though, there was a gentle knocking at the door. Her heart leapt; it might be David-sama, back from his first S-Rank mission!

Juvia rushed to the door with a bright smile on her face. She flung the door open, eager to see her David-sama again...but the sight that greeted her was far from what she expected.

Jose Porla stood in the doorway. He looked tired; there were dark bags under his eyes, and his already pale skin seemed to have fallen into a rather unhealthy pallor. There was a twist to his features that Juvia thought screamed 'suppressed worry'. "Juvia...there's something important you need to know."

Juvia didn't like the sound of that. She didn't like what she was seeing, either - Jose _never_ looked worried. "You are aware that David and Totomaru recently undertook an S-Rank mission? The manhunt job in southern Fiore."

Nervous worry caused Juvia's fingers to curl inwards. Jose's tone was _not_ helping to assuage that worry.

"I'm sorry I can't put this any other way," he sighed, "but the two of them bit off far more than they could chew. Unintentionally at first, I believe, but they still persisted after coming to understand the situation." He shook his head. "Those two boys are so…" He sagged a bit, running his hand through his hair. "They completed the mission, but...they did not do so unscathed."

Tears started to prickle in Juvia's eyes. ' _No, no, no...not David-sama...he wouldn't-'_

"David and Totomaru are currently in intensive care in Dawn City's hospital." Jose stated flatly. "I just received the news and I'm heading there to check on them. Do you-"

Jose didn't get to finish, since Juvia cut him off by rushing into his chest. She wrapped her arms around her Guild Master and cried, sobs shaking her and tears spilling from her like rain.

For the first time since she had met David-sama, the rain that had dogged her steps for so long returned. The hold that she had on her power disappeared in the tides of her emotions as worry submerged her control.

' _Please…please be ok David-sama. Without you...Juvia's life is not worth living.'_

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

 _Jose_

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

To say that Jose Porla's day was off to a poor start would be a grave understatement - extra emphasis on the 'grave' for any poor fool who happened to get on his bad side.

In the beginning, it could well have been a simple matter of waking up on the wrong side of the bed. Getting up that morning had just been irritating. He was tired, he was sore, and his head ached something fierce. Probably as a direct result of how he'd spent the previous night celebrating.

Oh, and drinking. There had been a _lot_ of drinking.

Of course it hadn't been just him. _Everyone_ had been drinking. After all, it wasn't every day that Phantom Lord accepted a new Mage into the ranks of its S-Class. Aria drowned his sorrows, Sol got so plastered he melted all over the wall and Gajeel began a…'concert' a few hours in.

Honestly, Jose was fairly sure he began to drink particularly heavily around that point. At the very least his memory was blessedly clear of Gajeel's latest assault on harmony.

Jose had called for celebrations over far more trivial matters it was true, but _this_ occasion had prompted him to break out a ten-year-aged Scotch from Balsam Village that he'd been saving. The bottle was finished now. Its after-affects, however, were still knocking around Jose's skull.

The downward slope began when he entered his shower and discovered there was no hot water remaining - a discovery that was made when he turned on the faucet and received a face full of water that really should have been ice. Three minutes of the cold hell that his usually invigorating morning shower had become later, he towelled off, got dressed and then went to go and eat his breakfast.

This was to become the highlight of his morning. His cereal didn't go soggy before he finished it, the milk in his fridge wasn't expired and, best of all, his morning coffee was black, bitter and refreshing - _just_ the way he liked it. He was actually beginning to think his morning was turning around as he went for his second coffee.

Then one of his communications Lacrima lit up like the morning sun and he smothered the urge to bash his head off something. A wall rather than a window, preferably - the _actual_ morning sun streaming into his kitchen was burning his darkly-ringed, bloodshot eyes.

With a tired sigh, he forced himself to walk into his living room where he kept his Lacrima so he could find out who the hell had the _balls_ to call him before his second coffee. Then he saw which one in particular was active and just _knew_ his day was about to get even worse.

When the Magic Council called on a Wizard Saint, it was never good.

-o-

Jose liked trains. They were relaxing to ride, fairly comfortable and they didn't require him to exert his magical power to travel. Unfortunately he couldn't really relax while he was trying to calm the incredibly distressed Water Mage sitting across from him.

As much as Jose hated being forced to do it, he needed to calm Juvia down somehow. Preferably before the water level in the car could rise above the three inches her tears had submerged it in so far.

Glancing out the window, Jose took a moment to appreciate the effect young David had had on Juvia. He'd almost become used to being around her without the constant drumming of rain and the occasional roll of thunder. Now the windows of the carriage were roaring with the constant drum of heavy raindrops and it sounded like a full percussion section were playing in the heavens. Flashes of lightning split the air with almost every one of the girl's sobs.

Such an extreme, emotionally influenced display was completely unlike Juvia as he had come to know her. Before _or_ after she had fixated on David. In a paradigm shift that was apparently tearing the heavens asunder she had flipped her personality from an emotionally numb, anti-social introvert into a highly emotional, highly expressive young woman. The fact that such a complete change had occurred in just a day still baffled him.

It wasn't a negative change. It was quite the opposite, really. Since latching onto the Speed Mage her control over her magic had improved greatly. No more rain and storms, much less wasted power in her spells, an almost instinctive manipulation of the water in her surroundings… All of it had come about as a result of her emotions coming to the surface.

Yet this would be the obvious disadvantage. Her nigh-instinctive link between her emotions and her magic, which usually manifested in a boost in her control due to her usually stable (being tilted so far to one side the scale is basically vertical is its own kind of stable) emotional status, had translated into her magic running wild as her emotions did the same.

Speaking of which, Jose really needed to snap her out of it soon. The water flowing from her tear-ducts was appearing faster than it could drain out from under the carriage's doors. It was already past his ankles and soon it would start pouring into his boots. If that happened, he wasn't going to be held liable for whoever he killed. Soggy socks were _not_ in his plans for the day.

It was a good thing he'd reserved the entire carriage, he mused, because if there had been anyone beside them...well, Jose had enough drama to deal with in Juvia alone.

How to do it though…

Jose would be the first to admit that he wasn't a particularly empathetic person. But he _prided_ himself on his acting skills. The role of a Guild Master (and a role it was, in both senses) required charisma, power and, most important of all, it required something that would make members a reason to _stay_. That wasn't all that important in the present moment, though.

He couldn't fake the empathy needed to feel the same as Juvia. He couldn't just pull that out of his hat (unlike the bottle of quality scotch that he kept concealed in its tip and he was currently wishing he could take a swig or five from). What he _could_ do, however, was exercise his authority. "Juvia."

Juvia's gaze lifted up quickly from the floor when he spoke. He had always used the same tone of voice when he expected his mages to obey him. It was good to know the conditioning had sunk in. "You are an S-Class Mage of Phantom Lord. It is unbefitting of you to loosen your control of your magic to this degree."

The Water-Woman muttered a soft "Sorry, master." in response to the chastisement before glancing around the carriage. The water level dropped immediately as all the liquid flowed into the centre of the transport and rose into a sphere. That sphere then streamed towards a window, manipulated it into opening and then launched itself out into the rapidly-diminishing storm.

"David and Totomaru may have been injured, but they are still alive." Jose continued. "Keep that in mind. We'll see them shortly - but while we are in public, there will _not_ be a repeat of this affair.

"Do you understand, Juvia?"

The blunette gave a small nod - rather like a scolded child.

"Good." Jose considered the girl for a moment, deciding that it wouldn't do for her to meet David in such a mood. "I understand, Juvia. I'm worried too - but letting our emotions control us doesn't serve anybody." He pulled the corners of his lips up with an effort of will. "Do try not to smother young David when we arrive, though. He and Totomaru surely don't need their wounds aggravated."

Juvia sniffled, but nodded again - a small smile on her face this time. "Juvia understands, master. Thank you."

Jose gave a satisfied nod. This was, to him, the greatest part of being a Guild Master - seeing the fruits of his labor appear in his mages. He was a father figure to his S-Class Mages; he'd been very careful about that. They were a group of misfits, but they were _his_ misfits. He had cultivated them from their rough beginnings into the forces they were today with the exacting care of a botanist tending to their prized flowers. His gentle guidance and authoritative control had brought them to new heights as the platform on which Phantom Lord stood tall - and that was as it should be.

After all, when handling a weapon one must use a gentle touch - and a _firm hand._

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

" _A Marvell-ous Recovery."_

 _3 Months Till Guild War._

 _Black fire. Tall, so tall it blocked out the sky as it burned away the land, as it burned_ me _away. Over the crackling came a cackling, laughter as malicious as any capricious God that cut through the flames and my ears, remaining even as the flames licked at me and I couldn't run I couldn't move_ I can't **get away-**

I woke with a scream and a violent attempt to sit up, leading to an instant wave of searing pain in my chest that knocked me right back down onto something soft. As I panted, trying to draw air into my lungs, I jerked my head around. I wasn't in that wasteland anymore - a hospital, judging by the white walls and the bed I was on…

Even as I tried to remain awake, the pain in my chest and exhaustion I hadn't quite noticed ate away at my vision and consciousness, dragging me back into the dark. I caught the opening of the door, someone entering quickly, but I didn't fully register it as I whirled back into oblivion with a single coherent thought trailing behind me.

' _I shouldn't be alive.'_

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

My next awakening was much more pleasant. For one thing, there was no more incredible pain to drag me back into unconsciousness. The downside was the pervasive numbness that had overtaken my usual sense of touch. Plus I felt really light-headed.

It didn't take a genius to realise I was probably on enough painkillers to put down a bull elephant.

Less pleasant, and much less welcome, was what I saw when I opened my eyes.

No, that wasn't right.

I couldn't claim the plural anymore.

The right-hand side of my face was covered in bandages, but I remembered enough to know that wasn't what was causing my blindness. I could recall Zancrow's fingers coming closer and closer until they dug into me. I could almost feel the phantom sensation of flesh and nerves tearing as my eye was torn out of my head.

My coherent thoughts veered off into oblivion as frigid dread made me shiver despite what was probably a warm room. Anything beyond that infinite spiral of ever-deepening coldness was shut out or drifted away, leaving me to huddle by myself where I lay in the middle of the bed as my bones froze over.

When the door opened again, I had to turn my head to see the newcomers. One was a doctor, going by the white robes. The other, though...I was rather surprised to see my Guild Master here of all places.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

 _Third Person POV_

"I'll be frank with you, Mr Porla." The doctor was saying as they entered. "Your mage is quite possibly the luckiest man I've ever had to treat. When the Rune Knights arrived I was convinced they'd brought me an intensive care patient and a _corpse."_

Jose scowled. "I understand that young David's injuries are immense, but you can't really expect me to believe you thought he was _dead_ when he came in."

The doctor sighed, shaking his head. "Well, perhaps a better way to phrase it would be that when I examined him, I couldn't believe he was alive. His vitals were there, however barely, but everything I've ever learned about medicine was telling me he should be dead where he lay."

Jose's scowl deepened, the furrowing of his brow casting his face in shadow. "You mean to tell me that the beating he took should have been enough to kill him? No number of bruises, however severe, would ever put down one of my mages. A shattered arm would not hold them back. Having an eye ripped out of his skull? That, doctor, is an _S-Class Mage of Phantom Lord._ I have no doubt that if he'd been conscious he would have _walked it off."_

The doctor sighed again. He wasn't going to get into an argument with one of the Ten Wizard Saints. _Especially_ not Jose Porla, whose ruthless edge was well known in Fiore. "Well, it wasn't so much the injuries he _received_ as those he caused _himself_ which shocked me."

That got Jose's attention. The shadows of his scowl shifted, somehow revealing his eyes as they stared right into the doctor's soul. Possibly literally; there were a lot of rumours about Jose's Shade Magic… " _Explain."_ The Guild Master commanded. " _Now."_

Swallowing audibly, the doctor hurried into his explanation while trying to keep his voice mostly steady. "Y-your other mage, Mr Totomaru, woke up when we were still trying to make sure Mr Robinson was stable! When I interviewed him as part of the standard Post S-Class Hospitalisation Protocol, the explanation he gave me showed Mr Robinson's injuries in a different light."

Pushing his glasses up his nose, the doctor took a deep breath and forged onward. "During my examination of Mr Robinson I discovered that the majority of his bruising and the massive amount of operational damage done to his body were not due to the physical trauma he underwent, but were sourced _internally._ I couldn't understand it until Mr Totomaru told me Mr Robinson utilised a technique he called 'Gear Second'."

One of Jose's eyebrows rose fractionally. The doctor took the unsaid cue and continued.

"I pressured him for details," the doctor said, "and what I got was…" He struggled to find a word for several seconds, then finally seemed to give up and settle for something less. " _Terrifying._

"According to Mr Totomaru's description, Gear Second was some kind of elevated state during which Mr Robinson's physical capabilities were exponentially increased. From what Mr Totomaru observed it involved increasing the speed of his breathing and blood flow to inhuman degrees."

A small grin was hidden in the folds of Jose's impassive scowl. To think that David was hiding an even greater strength...that boy continued to please him.

"But despite how advantageous it obviously was, it came with devastating costs." The doctor continued. "He ruptured up to or perhaps more than sixty percent of the blood vessels in his body. That's where a lot of the bruising comes from; his circulatory system is barely functional anymore and we've had to siphon away excess blood in some places."

The doctor paused, waiting to see if the Guild Master next to him would do anything. Like destroy him on the spot and leave not the slightest evidence of his prior existence in the world, as had happened to more than one person in Jose's way.

He wasn't. Though, Jose _did_ surprise the doctor. He'd never thought he would see Jose Porla _concerned._

"To keep a long story short," the doctor concluded, "that technique should, by all rights, have caused Mr Robinson here to undergo a fatal brain hemorrhage. He's so lucky to be alive that I simply can't quantify it."

A rapid-fire sequence of emotions flickered over Jose's face. The doctor, having delivered such news before, was still only able to catch the barest hint of fear before the Guild Master settled into an expression with all the feeling of a stone wall. "Leave us."

It wasn't a suggestion.

The doctor left the room in seconds, pulling the door closed once more behind him as he did so. He wasn't about to risk life and limb over the possibility of a Guild Master harming one of his most prized Mages.

Jose looked down at David for a long moment. His face remained inscrutable, his thoughts unknowable, the calm before the storm. When motion finally came it twisted his stoney visage into the scowl of an angry god, the grinding sound of his teeth working against one another underpinning the growl that left this throat. "DAVID ROBINSON!"

Jose's voice rose to a near shout, the words as sharp and as short as a Drill Sergeant's commands. The nigh-comatose Mage on the bed in front of him shot into an upright sitting position without any apparent input on his own part, Jose's eyes meeting David's singular orb and locking in an instant. David's was almost blank, close to empty, but life slowly dripped back into it as the very instinctual fear that Jose had trained his voice to inspire dragged him back from the pits of his own mind. "Oh...h-hey, Jos-"

"SILENCE, boy!" Jose barked, David's mouth shutting so fast he almost added a bitten tongue to his list of ailments. "You are going to _sit_ , and you are going to _listen!_ AM I UNDERSTOOD?!"

David might as well have been using his magic with how fast he nodded his head in agreement. He looked like he wanted to shrink back, but didn't dare to do so in the face of his Guild Master's command.

"In that thick skull of yours," Jose began, his eyes narrow and his voice heavy, "is there the _slightest inkling_ of how dangerous that technique of yours was?" No answer from David. Good for him - Jose wasn't after a reply. "A brain hemorrhage. _A Gods-be-damned BRAIN HEMORRHAGE!"_ The shadows in the room warped in odd ways as Jose's voice rose, the man himself glaring furiously at his Mage. "Do you know what would have happened if one of Phantom Lord's S-Class Mages managed to _kill himself_ with _his own magic?!_ The kind of impact that would have on the Guild in the wider world? The kind of impact that would have on _us?!"_

A bit more life entered the Speed Mage's eye as memories passed almost visibly behind it. "You don't under-"

" _SILENCE!"_ Jose roared, shadows from the ceiling seeming to drop down and warp the contours of his face. The figure that yelled at David was twisted, monstrous, something from a nightmare rather than a man. "I called for silence, AND I WILL HAVE IT!"

He got it. There was a tension now, however, that hadn't been there before. There was enough life in David to power a weak glare back at his Guild Master. It barely counted as such - but it was there.

The shadows pulled back to their usual places as Jose took a deep breath, forcing down emotion and projecting a calm mask just as he forced down the shadows. "David, your course of action was supremely foolish. It's not just Phantom Lord and not just those close to you who would be affected, after all. You're a smart boy, David. If you died - if you brought yourself to death through your own magic - how do you think _Juvia_ would feel?"

The weak glare that David had been holding flickered and died like a candle in a high wind. It was replaced with an increasingly horrified, increasingly guilty expression as the logical course of events wound past his mind's eye, as the memories of Juvia's past - those she'd spoken of and those he'd known from Fairy Tail itself once upon a time - joined the procession.

He'd sworn Juvia would never be alone again. That he'd never leave her to that fate.

The realisation of just how close he'd come to breaking that promise hit hard. David lowered his hand into his only functional hand, resting his left elbow on his thigh as his right arm refused to respond. "She would break down." He replied, his voice drained and somewhat wavering. "Her life would collapse again...and it would be my fault this time."

Jose nodded, his expression remaining fixed. "Indeed." He agreed. "You have done more for that young woman than anyone else in her life to date. I'd like to think you knew that - that you realised you are the single most important person in her life…" His eyes narrowed once again. "But judging by your actions, that knowledge has escaped you."

David said nothing. His head remained in his hand, expression unknown...but the glistening track that appeared below his remaining eye said enough.

Jose's narrowed eyes returned to their previous position, then softened slightly. The Guild Master's entire frame slumped a bit as a tired sigh escaped his mouth. "David, I have been Phantom Lord's Guild Master for a long time. Many Mages have come before me over that time, and of all of them, not one has ever grown as quickly as you." Some of his posture came back as Jose's tone became somewhat exasperated. "Yet for all your development, you have not learned that being a Mage of Phantom Lord comes with _responsibilities."_

Jose paused, giving David a moment to collect himself before continuing. "First among those responsibilities is _taking care of yourself._ There are many people to whom you mean a great deal, David. Juvia is foremost among them, but were you to be lost then neither myself nor any of the other S-Class Mages would be quite the same."

David still hadn't looked up, so Jose walked over to the bedside, bending his knees a bit to bring his head down to the other Mage's level. Reaching out with his right hand, he carefully laid it on David's shoulder, squeezing lightly. "This being the case, please be more cautious. Using a barely-trained technique on one of the strongest Dark Mages in Fiore is about the direct opposite of 'taking care of yourself'."

David finally removed his head from his hand, blinking his remaining eye as he turned to Jose. "What?"

"You heard me."

"You're...not gonna yell at me anymore?" David asked. "You're not going to tell me Gear Second's too dangerous and declare it forbidden?"

"No, I'm not."

"...Are you going to congratulate me?" The Speed Mage asked, slightly-forced tones of hope in his voice.

Jose snorted. "At least your sense of humour, poor as it may be, remains intact." The Guild Master commented. David laughed weakly, and Jose let him do so for a moment before becoming serious once more. "I'm not going to forbid you from using Gear Second." He reaffirmed. "From what I've been told it increases your physical capabilities and speed far above your natural limits, correct?"

David nodded. "Yeah, it's a sort of...elevated state, if you will. It's powerful - _really_ powerful - but it's got a price…" He waved his left arm in the general direction of his own body. "Well, I guess that bit's obvious."

"In that case, all you must do is master the technique." Jose said simply. "And that shall increase your strength tremendously." Jose smiled. "This technique is another step on your road to strength, David. It is my wish that you train with this ability until you can perform it as easily as you breathe." He paused. "Without injuring yourself, I feel I must add."

David couldn't suppress a small smile of his own in response to Jose's expression. His confusion and the lingering traces of his earlier downward spiral were pushed further from the forefront of his mind as he felt a certain contentment in the Guild Master's words. All things considered, things were working out much better than he'd expected.

Jose straightened his legs, turning and walking to the door. "I believe this talk will do you some good, young David." He declared, pausing just inside arm's reach of the portal. "However, to ensure that what I've said here today doesn't slip your mind, you won't be getting off without some form of punishment."

Just like that, David's face fell. He'd spoken too soon.

"Half of the pay that you and Totomaru would each have received for this mission will be donated to the effort in making Heiwana Village's previous location inhabitable once again so that a new village may be built. That should hopefully soften the blow Phantom Lord's reputation takes for not managing to save the village in the first place." Jose glanced over his shoulder, a grin splitting his face. "Oh yes, and before I forget - you owe me a couple of favours."

David frowned. "Why?" Jose's grin was sending a shiver down his spine…

"Because I already took the liberty of telling Juvia the extent of your injuries and subsequently calming her down." The Guild Master explained. "And as a word of advice, I wouldn't mention your injuries were self-inflicted. Any further 'water damage' shall be paid for out of _your_ pocket."

David let out a breath he didn't even know he was holding. " _Thank you. SO much."_

"Of course." Jose nodded, reaching for the door. "I suppose I should let you rest - you have a great deal of recovering to do. You must focus your energy on recuperating so that you may begin training to master your new ability."

David nodded. "Do you know how long that's going to take?"

"The doctor tells me that he estimates your recovery time being eighteen weeks, should no further complications arise or regressions occur." Jose didn't look too happy about the time period - but if his displeased expression was one thing, David's rising panic was quite another.

Eighteen weeks. That was more than four months, meaning that if he remembered correctly the Guild War would be due to start before he was discharged. That couldn't be allowed to happen; too many things had changed, there were too many things that could go wrong now without him there.

His train of thought was rather violently derailed, however, as the room's window slammed open and the familiar head of Juvia Lockser appeared in the now-open portal. "EIGHTEEN WEEKS?!" She exclaimed, before losing her balance on the window sill and falling head-first into the room. If that bothered her at all, she didn't show it in the slightest as she bounced back to her feet and hurried over to Jose.

"What do you mean David-sama is going to be here for four months?!" She asked, looking somewhere between panicked and disappointed. "We never got to celebrate Valentine's Day as a couple!"

It took most of Jose's willpower not to lower his head into his hands as his expression deadpanned. "That was almost two months ago, Juvia."

The Water Mage huffed. "Juvia wanted to celebrate it anyway!"

Jose chuckled, shaking his head. "Well, I'm certain that you can make arrangements between you. For now I'll leave you two be…" He turned, then paused. "Though, Juvia, _please_ don't be too overbearing. Young David must rest and heal before he's off with the wind again."

As Jose stepped through the doorway, David's thoughts abruptly shot off in a new direction. Memories that had faded with time but remained just present enough to rise to the surface were drawn on, and before Jose had even fully passed the door frame David had called out. "Jose!"

The Wizard Saint paused, glancing over his shoulder. "Yes?"

"Have you ever heard of a Guild called Cait Shelter?"

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

 _David's POV_

I couldn't keep myself from grinning as Jose left the room. I enjoyed being confined to a bed about as much as I enjoyed the events that _got_ me confined - maybe because of my magic, maybe just because of my nature, either way the mere idea grated on me. As such, having quite possibly the best healer in the entirety of Fiore called in to get me up and moving again was both a relief and a great source of joy.

I had absolutely _no_ idea what I might change by involving Wendy so early...but did I ever really care about the ripples my actions caused? I probably did at some point, but if so I couldn't really remember anymore.

One way or another, there were good odds that Wendy would be showing up in fairly short order. After that I'd hopefully be able to get the hell out of the hospital and do what I had to do.

Namely, _get my shit together._

I accepted, now, that I hadn't made the trip from Earth to Earthland completely unchanged. Maybe the change was part of the process, like a book put through a translator; maybe I'd adjusted slowly enough to not really notice until just recently and the change was natural; or maybe it was one of a thousand other things, fantastic or not, that were still possible in a world of magic. No matter what, however, my mentality _had_ changed, and I couldn't deny it.

In the early days, just after I joined Phantom Lord, I set out to jailbreak my powers and become as strong as possible in the name of survival. I was full of energy and ideas, ready and willing to learn anything and everything for the fun of it and in the name of my own safety.

Yet, somewhere along the way, I just... _stopped._

In all fairness, I've managed to hold my own from the first hours of my new life until just recently. Yet, the only reason for that was the way I'd worked to mimic the work of others. The Six Powers and Gear Second were among the most obvious of the things I'd plundered from other worlds, other fighters. I thought they were awesome, so I worked to replicate them without ever once considering how I could improve them or how I could make them truly my own.

I hadn't been trying to survive. I'd been _indulging_ myself.

I wasn't proud of it, but everything I'd recreated with my magic was some kind of wish-fulfilment or fantasy. My ability to speed-train my muscles, the same one that gave rise to my ability to heal, was born from a need to be stronger so I could perform the Six Powers, and after I reached that level my muscle-building tapered off in favour of playing with my new 'toys'. I'd never gone further with pushing the limits of my perceptions, never moved on from eyesight to work with my other senses because I was so enraptured with the sight of the world shrinking into the distance behind me.

My fight with Zancrow could have been so much easier. No - it could have been _easy,_ simple as. I could have run a grid-search of the village so fast he couldn't react, I could have saved the mayor and those two kids and taken them to safety in seconds. I could have gone Gear Second from the very start and appeared behind him before he could ever react, killing him in any number of ways before he ever knew he was in danger. I could have trained to affect my surroundings as more than just a side-effect of using my magic, so that a simple touch would accelerate his heart to the point of detonation, accelerated his blood-flow to cause an aneurysm as I'd almost done to myself, or even turned the monster to dust among the ash.

I could have done all that and more - but, I didn't. Instead, I tried to match Zancrow, the Fire God Slayer, one of Fiore's most feared, most powerful Mages who went head-to-head with Natsu Dragneel and kicked him up and down the curb for a large part of their fight, _blow for blow._ I brought a knife to a gunfight - no, I brought a _sheet of paper_ to a _fucking war-zone._ I over-reached so dramatically, so _fantastically,_ that it wasn't even fucking funny. My folly would have killed me - _should_ have killed me. It would have, too, if it hadn't been for Totomaru.

Not even his intervention had turned that shit-show into anything positive, though.

God, this was just...the worst. The _absolute worst._ My eye is gone and my depth perception along with it. No matter what happens from now on, even if I get a magical eye like Erza, that weakness will always be there to be exploited by someone who knows how. If I don't get any kind of sight aid, though - if my most relied-upon sense has had its effectiveness halved permanently...

I don't even really know how I'm going to deal with this shit.

If there's one thing I _won't_ do, though, it's spend the rest of my life dwelling on my mistakes. After I get up off this bed, I'm going to take this whole fucking _mess_ of an experience and I'm going to _learn_ from it. Then I'm going to take those lessons and _move on._ No more wish-fulfilment. No more playing around. No more stupid mistakes and fighting like...like a _main character._

This isn't a story. It's my world - it's my _life._ It'll be _my_ techniques I rely on from now on; _my_ ideas that give rise to new possibilities. So help me God, nothing like this will ever happen again. _I swear it._

After all, if I'm held back by dwelling on the past, then I'll never be able to move forward.

...Though if Juvia kills me right now, that would probably stop me from moving forward too.

Juvia had become almost ecstatic when I brought up Cait Shelter. The revelation that I knew about a Mage who could potentially bring me back to my usual health in minutes had her begging Jose to bring that Mage to the hospital as quickly as humanly possible.

The...eh... _issue,_ arose when Jose asked for the Mage's name.

No sooner had the words 'Wendy Marvell' passed my lips than Jose and I knew true fear. Fear beyond limit, fear beyond reason, fear beyond what could be conjured by even the likes of Zancrow or the Black Dragon Acnologia. It locked our muscles and stalled our thoughts like ice growing outward from the heart, its icicles a sharp, piercing sensation that set our stiff frames to shuddering with tension.

The difference between us was that Jose was standing in the doorway and was thus able to fall backwards into the corridor and pull the door closed behind him. I, on the other hand, couldn't have moved from my bed even if I'd had the courage to.

Speaking as someone who kicked a member of Grimoire Heart in the balls - _twice_ \- I'll say that it would have taken a much braver man than me to move in that atmosphere.

It was _quite_ the atmosphere, too. Juvia's presence upped the room's humidity by her very nature, but in her high emotion that humidity rose to the level of a rain storm at sea. Breathing was scarily close to drinking, while waves and churning currents formed in the air around her and caused strange breezes and twists of the light. Her hair rose and waved around menacingly, though whether that was the wind or just her wasn't clear, while the way her magic was screwing with the air's refractive index ended up casting strange, liquid shadows over large portions of the room - including her face.

A pair of looming, bright-blue eyes were the only clear thing I could make out from her corner of the room as she said two words. Two words that arose from her throat with a growl to do any lioness proud, two words that contained more venom than Totomaru had pumped into Zancrow - two words that I dreaded above possibly all others on Earthland.

" _ **Ļo̩͘v̲e̠̰̣ ͞R̢̻ͅị͉̻v͇̗a̜̗͙l̺̰͜!"**_

"NO!" I declared, raising my one good hand as best I could in the soup-consistency air that was rapidly forming a room-sized hurricane. "She really isn't!"

The enraged Juvia's gaze switched from some unknown middle-distance to me in an instant, the glowing orbs of her eyes pinning me in place like a butterfly on a cork board. Only for an instant, though. No matter how angry she became or what state she might be in, Juvia was still Juvia. I could never be truly afraid of her.

"Okay, Juvia." I said, loudly enough to be heard over the... _inclement..._ weather. "First of all - you and I are already in a relationship. We have been for a while now, so believe me when I say this:

"There is _no other woman_ on this _whole damn planet_ that I would rather be with."

A heartbeat passed. Then the winds settled and the shadows stopped writhing, excess water pulling away from the surfaces it had coated and pouring out the window as Juvia's hair fell once more. In moments, there was no sign at all that anything had occured at all - save, perhaps, for the crimson blush on my girlfriend's face.

"Second," I continued, "this girl is, like, twelve years old. Her magic's strong but she's just a kid. She can't hold a candle to you." I sent a mental apology to Wendy, wherever she was...but it _was_ kinda true.

Juvia turned a brighter shade of red, fidgeting slightly as she stood by the window.

"And finally, I wouldn't want to ruin what we have by going after another girl." I looked at Juvia - at _my_ Juvia, who was so unconditionally good to me that I sometimes worried her mere presence was a dream. I remembered the time we spent together and I thought of all that I still wanted to do in the future, and I spoke a perfect truth. "There's nothing in this world I value more than you, Juvia. There's nothing I would ever trade you for - _especially_ not another girl."

Juvia's blush hit maximum crimson as she turned the colour of rose petals, the woman herself letting out a soft sigh. Then she walked over and took a seat on my bed, her blush fading fairly quickly. "David-sama always knows what to say to make Juvia feel better."

I gave the best grin I could manage. "Just the truth."

The massive, genuine smile that spread over Juvia's face probably didn't do good things for my heart's recovery. The soft kiss she planted on my cheek, though, did wonders for my spirit.

"Hey, Juvia?"

"Yes, David-sama?"

"You don't need to worry about 'love rivals' or anything." I told her, trying not to sound too exasperated. "You know I won't do something like that to you."

The Water-Woman huffed. "Juvia knows...but she can't help but feel that scared that someone will take you away from her. David-sama is simply too good for any other women, but they will still come. That is why Juvia worries. Juvia…" She paused, taking a series of quick breaths before looking up and meeting my eyes. " _I_...love you, David-sama. I don't want to lose you."

...Never once, in the time I had known her, had Juvia ever dropped her verbal tic. Its absence in that moment carried more weight than any blow that Zancrow could have dealt me; the guilt alone was crushing. It smothered my words before I could say anything, sealing my lips shut and plunging the room into a solemn, contemplative silence as Juvia and I sat on the bed.

Then, finally, something she'd said registered properly and I managed to kick my own ass back into gear, dragging my brain along for the ride. "Juvia, did you just imply I'm a chick magnet?"

"Juvia did no such thing!" She proclaimed, though the red cheeks and the way her lips twitched didn't really support her words.

We both broke out laughing barely a moment later - and like that, the good mood returned.

By the time we got ourselves back under control, I couldn't quite suppress the creeping feeling that I was going to have to go back to resting soon or risk passing out. I took some weight off my still-recovering back as I leaned a bit on Juvia's shoulder, enjoying the proximity as I closed my eye for a moment. "I mean it, you know." I told her. "There's not a girl, magic, title or anything else that means more to me than you. I'll never give you up for as long as you'll have me." When I opened my eye again, there was a creeping darkness in the corners of my vision that I closed my eye again rather than fight - I could feel a pillow-y warmth in my skull, turning my thoughts to cotton wool even as the warmth of Juvia's arm and shoulder relaxed me further. "And before I pass out," I abruptly said, acting on an impulse, "there's one thing I'd like to say."

"Yes, David-sama?"

Maybe it was the semi-delirious state. Maybe it was my own inexperience with relationships. Maybe it was my near-death experience. Hell, maybe it was all of them or none of them that caused it...but no matter the reason, I still pulled myself up to look Juvia in the eye from barely an inch away and said four words.

 _The_ four words. The ones everyone said to hold on to, to be careful with, to _wait_ for. I'd waited long enough, though - and no matter _what_ state I was in, I damn well meant it.

"I love you too."

I held on to my vision for just long enough to see Juvia achieve a whole new shade of red in her blush before I had to fall backwards onto my pillows and drift away into sleep. I was still able to hear Juvia let out a high-pitched, happy squeal before she fainted, though.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

 _Third Person POV_

Wendy Marvell wasn't the kind of person you could call 'outgoing'. In fact, by her own consideration she was the exact opposite; shy, reserved and demure. Not that she was often alone; far from it, in fact. She had her Guild-mates, she had Guild Master Roubaul, and she even had Jellal...wherever he'd wandered off to.

"Gosh child," a refined, female voice declared, "if you wear that nervous expression for any longer your face is going to stick that way."

Not forgetting, of course, her best friend and constant companion Carla.

"S-sorry, Carla." Wendy stammered back, playing with the hem of her dress nervously. "I...I'm just a little worried."

The pure-white Exceed, wearing a red dress carefully made especially for her, crossed her arms and huffed out a breath as she gave Wendy a reproving look. She had to send it across the three foot height division between their respective heads, of course, but it said something about Wendy that she still wilted a little. "Honestly Wendy, you've got to get over your shyness!" Carla declared. "How do you expect to represent our Guild if you can't even speak to our clients?"

Wendy didn't answer. Mostly because Carla's question had dragged her thoughts right back to _why_ they were both standing outside a hospital in the first place.

It wasn't even a day before that Master Roubaul had received a message from Phantom Lord, it having been passed along via the single Lacrima he kept in the lodge in case the Magic Council needed to contact Cait Shelter for some reason. Somehow, Jose Porla - one of the Ten Wizard Saints and Guild Master of Phantom Lord - had known to _ask for her by name_. More, he _knew_ what her Magic was - or at least, that she could heal more easily than some people could breathe.

The thought of having come to such a powerful man's attention was…

 _Unsettling._

"Wendy, you need to walk with dignity!" Carla admonished her. "You've been selected for a very grown-up job and I expect you to give it your all when we enter."

Wendy let out a small squeak, looking up from where she had been staring at her feet as she walked. "What do you mean 'when we enter'?"

Carla rolled her eyes. "Child, haven't you been paying any attention at all? We've already reached the doors!"

To be fair, Wendy had been spacing out ever since she and Carla had left the train. As such, it was quite a surprise to the Sky Dragon Slayer to find herself in the afternoon shadow of a large building in central Oak Town. With the way the sun was positioned behind it, the structure loomed over her in a manner that was almost intimidating.

"Alright Wendy, this is it." Carla met the young girl's eyes, giving her a smile. "You're about to start a very important mission, so do the best you can."

Wendy smiled. Despite her posh and commanding attitude, Carla was and had long been among the most stable of the pillars she leaned on. The confidence the Exceed gave her was a strength all its own, one that Wendy couldn't imagine living without anymore. As such, the encouragement she received prompted Wendy to nod firmly, determination shining in her eyes as she swallowed her nerves. "I will, Carla!"

The Exceed nodded approvingly then motioned to the door before them. Wendy immediately stepped forward, pushing the portal open and stepping forward entirely ready for whatever this mission could bring to bear against her.

Then her foot caught on the bottom of the doorframe and she fell face-first onto the lobby floor.

Behind her, Carla could only sigh. So much for the professional first impression.

As Wendy picked herself up off the floor, face glowing with embarrassment, a voice called out to her. "Are you Wendy Marvell?"

The girl in question finished getting back to her feet, quickly looking around and picking out the hospital's receptionist where the woman was leaning over her desk with a concerned expression. "Y-yes…" She replied, trying to suppress her luminescent blush.

"Mr Porla has been expecting you." The woman told her, sitting down normally after making sure Wendy wasn't hurt. "You can find him down the hallway to your right, he's in the cafeteria."

Wendy nodded quickly, bowing her head in appreciation for the directions before she hurried off, Carla deploying her wings to glide along behind her. "Goodness Wendy, slow down!" She called, catching up with the child. "You need to get ahold of yourself; you'll do yourself no favours if you rush in there without calming yourself first."

Once again, Carla's level head prevailed and Wendy slowed her pace to a normal walk. "You're right...t-thanks, Carla."

The Exceed huffed. "When we go in there, please try to keep both your feet on the ground. We're meeting a Wizard Saint and first impressions aren't really your strong suit." Carla quickly zipped around her Dragon Slayer, making adjustments to her posture. "Back straight, shoulders back - and for goodness' sake, keep your eyes off the ground!"

Once she was satisfied, Carla gave a small nod. "Good. Now, let's go!"

Wendy smiled, confidence filling her once more.. "Right!"

She opened the door, taking great care not to trip, then looked around the room. "Mr Porla? I'm here for-" Her words were cut off when she finally set eyes on the Wizard Saint, and the sight stopped Wendy in her verbal tracks.

When Wendy thought of a Wizard Saint, the image her imagination conjured was that of a tall, commanding figure, cloaked in power and authority, regal and refined.

What _didn't_ come to mind was a somewhat thin man reclining lazily on a chair, emptying the contents of a metal flask into a cup of coffee.

The two of them locked eyes for about three seconds as Jose kept his flask upturned over his cup. Once the flow of clear liquid from the flask ran out, Jose swirled the cup gently for a moment before abruptly chugging down its entire contents in only a few seconds.

Letting out a content sigh despite his rapidly-colouring cheeks, the Guild Master put his cup down and stood up, smoothing down his clothes and clearing his throat. "You must be Wendy Marvell." He greeted her. "I've been expecting you...though honestly, I thought it would take you longer to arrive."

Carla replied before Wendy. "Well, you _did_ offer to pay for our transportation as part of the request. That greatly accelerated our arrival."

If Jose was at all surprised by the talking cat in a red dress, it didn't show on his face or in his voice. "Of course!" He declared. "It would have been truly remiss of me not to provide as much aid as possible, considering you accepted such a rushed timetable for the request." Jose gave Wendy a small smile. "I owe you a personal vote of thanks as well, Ms Marvell; as a Dragon Slayer with the ability to heal, I can only imagine how much demand there is for your talents."

"N-not really, I'm still not as good as Grandeeney-" Wendy began to reply, before abruptly realising what she was saying and clamping both hands over her mouth.

Jose chuckled softly. "So, that would be the name of the Dragon who taught you."

An expression of mixed astonishment and wariness crossed both Wendy and Carla's faces. "How do you-" Carla began to ask, before Jose cut her off.

"Know that the Dragon Slayers are taught _by_ Dragons?" Jose finished. "Phantom Lord happens to have its own Dragon Slayer. I've heard that story many times before."

A hopeful gleam appeared in Wendy's eyes. "Do…do you believe it, then?"

An impish grin crossed Jose's face. "You use the Magic, don't you? That is all the proof I require."

Wendy's face lit up in a shining smile, her previous worries about the Wizard Saint evaporating. Carla was less star-struck, a touch of wariness remaining in her expression but hidden behind a neutral facade. Out loud, she simply huffed.

"So, now that the pleasantries are out of the way, I'll fill in the details of the request." Jose declared, gesturing for the two of them to follow him out of the cafeteria and back into the main hospital. "Recently, two of my Mages were heavily injured - one in particular came within a few minutes, if not a few seconds, of passing away entirely.

"I sent out a request because the doctors here are incapable of doing anything more than they have already done for them." Jose continued, glancing over his shoulder at the two short figures following behind him. "Which would you prefer to start with?"

"W-well, my Magic can tire me out quite quickly…" Wendy murmured, barely audible as she played with her fingers. "So...we should start with the more injured one. So I don't leave him half-healed."

"Excellent!" Jose declared, sporting a wide smile. "Would hearing the extent of his injuries be of assistance?"

"I-it would."

Jose nodded, his eyes unfocusing slightly as he reminisced. "Well, we might have enough time to list them all before we reach his room. Alright. The most serious damage he managed to acquire…"

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

 _David's POV_

You know what sucks? Nightmares.

It seemed like, ever since I arrived in Earthland, there wasn't a week that went by where I didn't wake up in a cold sweat at least once. The night terrors that so frequently plagued my mind ranged from twisted parodies of my memories before Earthland, the crash most of all, to equally horrific 'what if' sequences from the missions I'd undergone. Yet, neither of those was the most common nightmare.

No - the fear that woke me up more than any other was what would happen if my true origins came to light.

Logically, I knew that it would probably never happen. I hadn't, to my knowledge, given anyone even the slightest hint that I was from another world. With the way I'd adapted to Earthland so much, I doubted I was even giving unconscious hints; it should be impossible to tell or discover that I wasn't an Earthland native. Besides, even if people _did_ find out, I doubted it would change much in the long run. Juvia certainly wouldn't abandon me - I doubted my friends would either.

Doubt was the keyword, though, because on the emotional side of things everything was a _fucking mess._

I _absolutely could not_ let it get out that I was from another world. It would only take one misplaced word, a single fact spoken that I shouldn't have been able to know, and I would have painted the world's largest target on my back. People would want my impossible knowledge and care very little about what they'd have to do to me to get it...but even worse than that would be my friends, the friends whose histories and personal lives I knew far better than I had any right to, and how appalled they'd be.

No amount of logic could erase that fear. No amount of nightmares lessened it. It just grew ever larger, crippling my sleep and my thoughts as I imagined my friends turning their backs on me and walking away over and over again.

So yeah. Fuck nightmares.

I'd honestly expected that the oh-so-recent Zancrow incident to be semtex on the metaphorical fire as far as my night-terrors went. Strangely enough though, nothing had seemed to come of it. Blacking out after my conversation with Juvia hadn't plunged me into one of the ever-deepening, ever-worsening spirals of despair that I'd come to expect as a matter of course. Instead I got...nothing. A peaceful, dreamless sleep.

Understandably this confused the hell out of me. Not that I was _complaining_ about the lack of nightmares, but I couldn't help but wonder just what had brought on such a blissful rest.

Maybe it had something to do with how warm my pillow had apparently become? Or the fact that it had somehow become softer?

In fact, most of my torso was resting against a similar soft warmth. Cracking open my remaining eye to discern _why_ , I was torn between a sigh and a fond smile. ' _Yep, that figures.'_

Apparently Juvia had, at some point after I passed out, climbed into the bed and rearranged us so that she was lying underneath me, her arms wrapped gently around my chest. It was probably a perky- _pertinent_ detail that my head was resting against her torso, Juvia having sat with her back resting against the bed's headboard. The pillow was behind her back, at least, so if she even _could_ get cramps or such, what with her fluid body, they'd be at least partially relieved.

My head being buried in her chest kind of stuck out to me a bit more, though. A certain part of me certainly thought so, judging by my bloodflow.

I opened my mouth to say something, I wasn't even entirely sure what, but was silenced before I could even begin when Juvia placed a single, gentle finger over my lips and hushed me quietly. "Please rest, David-sama. You need to recover."

She shifted back a bit so she could look me in the face where my head was nestled against her chest. Since she was practically spooning me at this point, the admonishment fell a bit flat.

Soft hands intertwined themselves with my hair, gentle fingers massaging my scalp. Whatever complaints I might have had died before I'd even started to take a breath for the words.

I wasn't so blissed out not to feel it when Juvia's hands made their way down from my hair to my cheeks, gently tracing the bones beneath my bandages. The line of my jaw led down to my shoulders, where Juvia's fingers relaxed tense muscles with a skill I had no idea she possessed.

I _definitely_ didn't let out a breathy sigh of relief.

...Okay, not even I believe that. Neither did Juvia, judging by the sultry grin I could feel forming before I cracked open my eye and saw it on her face. "Someone's enjoying themselves~" She grinned, her hands linking together as they rested on my bandaged torso.

I pushed down the worst of my rising heartbeat and the red in my cheeks to give her a deadpan look. "Like you're not."

"Guilty~" Juvia sang, leaning forwards a bit more and causing her hands to move even lower as a result. "But Juvia doesn't hear David-sama complaining~"

...Okay, admittedly she had a point. Damn right I wasn't gonna complain about where this was-

"AHEM!"

Never in my life had the sound of someone pointedly clearing their throat in my general direction heralded such a wave of doom and embarrassment. Juvia and I both froze in place for barely an instant before the water-woman melted out from underneath me and shot down from the bed to reform in the seat beside it, her face still as bright a red as I knew my own was.

Jose's face wasn't red. It was just... _flat._

"Oh no, don't mind me." He stated, his words so utterly dead that I could almost feel the nails being driven into my coffin. "Please, by all means, continuing groping one another. It's not like the healer you requested by name - the _twelve-year old healer -_ is standing right outside the door to your room."

Somehow, the complete lack of inflection just made it worse. I opened my mouth to say something, but Jose simply held up one hand, palm facing me. "I don't want to hear your excuses." He declared.

""Yes, Master."" Juvia and I chorused, each sinking lower as we looked to the floor - or, in my case, the bedsheets.

"Good." He nodded. "If I _ever_ have to witness such a display of..." He paused for a moment, fishing for the right words, " _hormonal infatuation_ again, then I _will_ order you two to serve as Gajeel's audience for whenever he wants to play his... _music."_

Whatever red had remained in Juvia and I's faces vanished, instantly replaced by pasty white as the threat sank home. The dread horror of being exposed to Gajeel's attempts at singing were more than enough to kill whatever remnants of the mood might have remained.

"Now that what little restraint you apparently possess is back in place," Jose continued, moving to the door, "let's get this over with before I lose what remains of my patience." Laying his hand on the doorknob, he paused before turning it. "Just be glad I made the choice to check on you two before letting young Wendy in. I don't need to be paying for a child psychologist on top of everything else."

Oh no, that's _fine_ , just layer on _even more embarrassment_ why don't you…

With a low _click,_ the door opened and graced Juvia and I with the sight of the one and only Wendy Marvell.

She looked just like I remembered. Blue hair, a few shades darker than Juvia's, was left unstyled to fall down her back over her brightly-coloured dress, done in the style of the Nirvit that kind of resembled Native American pattern designs. Brown eyes were darting around the room a bit nervously, the girl's fingers playing with the hem of her dress in another sign of anxiety.

She really was goddamn adorable.

I opened my mouth to say something, but Juvia beat me to the punch as she crossed the room in moments and sank to her knees in front of the young girl, bowing her head.

(Some days, I really wondered about the chaotic mix of languages, cultures and designs that permeated Fiore. It never really lasted long; the whole mess made by head hurt.)

"Thank you so much for coming!" Juvia declared, Wendy herself looking on the edge of a panic attack. "Juvia is truly grateful that you would drop everything to help her David-sama. We are in your debt-"

"That is _quite_ enough, Juvia!" Jose snapped, glaring at the Water Mage. "Please, for the love of _everything_ reasonable and _sane_ , don't smother the poor girl before she's even done her job."

"...Sorry, Master." Juvia apologised, rising from her kneeling position and re-taking her seat at my bedside...though not before leaning down beside the shell-shocked Dragon Slayer and quietly whispering another "Thank you."

I glanced sideways at Juvia as she settled back into her chair. "Did you rehearse that?"

Her expression was perfectly serious as she nodded. "Yes."

"A-ah...thank you?" Wendy half-asked, half-said as she got her brain back in gear.

I looked to Jose, wondering just- ' _Oh you sly motherfucker! Don't think I didn't catch you taking a swig from that flask!'_

Despite my Guild Master's possible alcoholism, he looked downright fed up with our shit at this point. "Wendy, Carla…" The pale man sighed. "I'm very sorry for my Mages' behaviour. I'll be sure to _...reprimand_ them for their actions." The glare he turned on Juvia and I made something inside me quail.

"Excuse me for asking," Carla spoke up - and wow, it was just as weird seeing an Exceed in person as it had been when I caught a glimpse of Happy back at Fairy Tail, "but what did Mr Robinson do?"

Jose's face twitched, as if it wanted to grimace but was being held in check. "Please, just...don't worry about it."

' _Dick.'_

I looked over the duo from Cait Shelter, wanting to at least introduce myself properly. I didn't even get a chance to do more than open my mouth before Jose raised his hand again and pinned me with his worst glare yet. " _No."_ He declared. "You're going to keep your mouth _closed,_ David, because I have the distinct feeling the whatever words pass your lips are just going to add to a truly impressive headache. I just want to get you on your feet, have Ms Marvell here heal Totomaru, then go home and _sleep."_ A stressed hand ran quickly through Jose's hair and his eye twitched. "I've been awake for thirty-six hours and counting, and I am _dangerously_ close to _losing my mind."_

' _...Fair enough.'_

I closed my mouth.

"Wendy, go ahead." Carla spoke up, clearing Jose's wish to get this over and done with - a sentiment I'd admit to sharing.

The Dragon Slayer nodded, moving over to my side of the bed and raising her hands. A light-blue glow of magic enveloped them moments later, and after a brief pause the glow spread from her hands to encompass my body.

It's... _difficult_ to describe precisely what happened next. It didn't feel _good,_ but it wasn't at all uncomfortable. My sense of feeling was kind of fuzzy what with all the painkillers, but I had enough sensation left to be aware of _something_ happening. Torn arteries seeking out their lost brothers and reconnecting; excess blood draining away from my skin, causing bruises to fade away; my right arm, mangled to the point of uselessness, made quiet cracking noises as odd twists and bends to its shape smoothed themselves out, the limb returning to working order in a ridiculously short frame of time.

Aches and pains that I'd been able to feel even through the painkillers faded and died away, bringing a visceral kind of relief like weights had been lifted from my shoulders. Then my sense of touch began to return and I realised that the painkillers must have been purged from my system.

I raised my right arm, flexing the fingers as I stared at it with, still, a single eye. Whatever part of me had been holding out hope for a quick fix sighed in disappointment, but the rest of me was shaking its head in awe. ' _Wendy's healing is so brokenly overpowered…'_

A few moments later, Wendy pulled back her magic with a long sigh of relief. She almost looked ready to faint, and she might have toppled over if Juvia hadn't snapped out of her reverie and gently steadier her.

I was, if anything, even more starstruck than Juvia. The sheer impossibility of eighteen weeks' worth of recovery taking place in under a minute was, even now, enough to baffle me as the weak and battered voice of 'common sense' I'd so abused these last few months made a valiant last stand.

That voice squealed and _died_ as I continued to move my right arm, then my legs, then grinned like a lunatic and vaulted off the bed, landing solidly on my feet and grinning even wider as they bore my weight.

I raised my arms to the ceiling, bandages tearing and falling away to reveal healthy skin beneath, and I shouted for the world to hear. "DAVID'S BACK, BABY!"

The impact of my grand cry was somewhat undermined by the repetitive sound of Jose slamming his forehead into the wall by the door, letting out a low groan.

Well, fuck him too.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

 **A Short Author's Note.**

 **I am very sorry everyone, that this chapter took so goddamn long to get out to you all. I made the mistake of thinking I could balance work, school, social life, and writing. Now that I've sorted my shit out, I will do my best to update more. This includes my other projects as well, such as Press-Ganging and JSTC.**

 **Before you even comment on the update speed, I understand the irony of this story having speed magic, and being slow to update.**

 **Anyway, I also want to point out that you all have been the most supportive and wonderful fans that I could ask for. Pointing out things I could improve on, and places I could take the story.**

 **I'd like to thank each and everyone of you personally if I could.**

 **With love - PSIness11**


	9. Waves in the Ocean

_Makarov's POV_

If there was one thing that Makarov Dreyar was truly proud of, it was his Guild members. Or, perhaps that was inaccurate. The Mages that made up Fairy Tail were far more than just mere members. To Makarov, they were his children, his family in all but blood.

And he knew when one of them was hurting.

It was something that he had noticed more recently, ever since he caught sight of her hanging around a little too long after the Guild Hall closed down for the night. She would always stay behind, longer than any other member.

Being the main, if not only, father figure in most of his members' lives, what kind of man would he be if he didn't help the girl who was clearly suffering so much pain?

"Master, could you please lift up those tables so I can sweep under them?"

"Certainly Mira." Makarov replied, his arm stretching over to the tables in question and swelling along its length as he lifted the heavy wooden furniture into the air from across the room.

"Thank you!"

Makarov sighed, a small smile hidden by his moustache. For a while now Mira had been staying behind in the guild after everyone had left, having taken it upon herself to clean up the mess that her guildmates had left over the course of the day. No matter that doing so would probably be payable as a Job Request, even for a former S-Class Mage.

' _Mira is far too good for this world.'_ Makarov thought to himself, setting down the tables and lifting up some benches for her to sweep under. Seriously, no one person should have to clean up all that mess. Hence why Makarov had taken it upon himself to stay after and help her.

Really, no _two_ people should be forced to clean up after Fairy Tail either. Still, with two S-Class Mages on the job, it was almost a reasonable workload.

 _Almost._

"That's enough for tonight Mira, I can deal with the rest of this mess."

"Are you sure master?" The snowy-haired bartender asked, pausing her sweeping. "There's still a lot-"

"Mira, you've cleaned this old bar more times than I can count. Just take the rest of the night off this once; I'll handle it."

The relief on her face caused Makarov's smile to widen.

"Alright, if you say so master." She replied, leaning her broom against a table before turning to the doors.

Makarov waved a lazy goodbye to her as she left the Guild Hall, the doors shutting behind her with a gentle thud. He waited a good thirty seconds to make sure she was gone, then he snapped his fingers and a small green magic circle appeared in front of him as the overturned tables and debris began to move.

Tables and chairs rearranged themselves, new pieces flying out from behind the bar to replace what couldn't be set to rights. Sawdust and broken furniture were swept up into a massive floating ball of wood and another snap of his fingers set the ball ablaze, leaving nothing but ashes that were promptly flung out an open window.

Makarov snorted in amusement. No matter how long he lived, he would never be convinced that Telekinesis Magic _wasn't_ the best thing since sliced bread. He hadn't needed to lift a finger in the name of cleaning for decades.

He just wished that Mira would stop insisting on doing everything by hand. Magic made things _so_ much easier.

Now left alone in the Guild Hall, Makarov's arm stretched over behind the bar, pulling out a beer. He took a quick sip, before closing his eyes.

His face became deadly serious in an instant, as his senses stretched out to every corner of the Hall and beyond. He had to make sure there wasn't a single soul around. Should someone see what he was about to do next, it could ruin everything that he had worked so hard to preserve.

His face relaxed when he didn't sense anyone near the guild.

It was then graced with a somewhat lecherous grin as he pulled out the latest copy of Sorcerer Weekly. The grin only grew larger as he _slowly_ flipped through the pages, drinking in the wondrous sight of the young models.

"Oh ho ho! You _naughty_ girl." A blush crossed Makarovs face as he took a sip of his beer, flipping past some articles to get to the next picture. This went on for minutes, before he decided to skip to the best part of the magazine. _The centerfold._

He quickly flipped to the middle of the magazine, his blush getting even darker as he feasted his eye on the _glorious-_

…

' _Oh you motherfucker!'_

All traces of happiness vanished from Makarov's face, replaced by a grim frown. Not only had he been _deprived_ of his favorite part of Sorcerer Weekly, he was also irked to no end at the image that had replaced it.

It was a picture of two young men. The first was a blond, clad in a white t-shirt and black track pants. Atop his head was a black beanie, a small patch of embroidery that looked like a ghost standing out on the front of it. But the most noticeable feature on the person, and perhaps the most out of place, was the black eye patch that he wore.

The second was wearing a red and black robe, with a black t-shirt underneath. Strapped to a rope along his waist was a black katana. His hair was a mix of black and white, the two colors being distinctly separated by the part in his hair. The rest of what was probably a long mane pulling into a ponytail. Across his face were three thick black lines, going under his eyes and above his nose.

And as much as the Phantom Lord mark irritated Makarov, he was _far_ angrier at the fact that his long awaited centerfold had been replaced by these two. His anger was quickly replaced with a somber mood, however, as he began to read the caption under the picture.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

 **In Loving Memory.**

 **Readers, I am aware that this is not the centerfold you have hoped for, but please, allow me to take this from you to bring light onto a matter of utmost importance. For the past few weeks, an unknown assailant has been attacking villages and razing them to the ground, leaving behind nothing but ashes. Their motives were questionable, but their goal was clear. To kill as many people as possible.**

 **Nothing concrete was known about the murderer, the only known fact about them being that they used a terribly strong form of fire magic. The identity of the horrid killer was finally revealed to the world when two brave mages (pictured above) undertook a mission to bring him to justice.**

 **The murderer was a man known only as 'Zancrow', a member of the infamous Dark Guild Grimoire Heart, part of the Balam Alliance, and his only motive was slaughter. He utilized a form of Lost Fire Magic that allowed him to conjure black flames that could burn anything to ash in seconds, and with it he wreaked destruction wherever he walked.**

 **Yet, despite all this, S-Class Phantom Lord Mages David Robinson and Totomaru were able to overcome him, ending his string of killings. It was not, however, without loss.**

 **Totomaru suffered a severe beating during the battle, experiencing several broken limbs and severe burns. David wasn't so lucky. Our sources tell he us he is suffering from severe internal damage, mangled limbs, and the loss of his right eye. Despite all this, the two have made a swift recovery, and are going to be up on their feet soon.**

 **However readers, do not forget the tragedy that has befallen us all. The loss of life was horrid, and we will never forget the people that this monster as taken from our lives.**

 **We owe thanks to the two mages that stopped this horror, and have selflessly donated half of their reward to the rebuilding of Heiwana village.**

 **I only hope that something as terrible as this never happens in the future, and mages like these two will fight to stop any future incidents.**

 **Jose Porla, Wizard Saint.**

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Makarov was silent for a good while, not really seeing the magazine before him as he became lost in thought. On one hand, he was glad that the threat was over. He had heard of the destruction of multiple small towns previously, and had honestly gagged at the pictures that he had seen. There was not a single thought in his mind that didn't agree with the putting down of that monstrous excuse for a human.

On the other hand, he really wasn't fond of the mages who had put an end to Zancrow. Well, not so much the mages themselves - rather, it was the man that they represented that he disliked. Phantom Lord and Fairy Tail had been rivals for Fiore's number one guild for _years,_ and Makarov was convinced that he had put Jose Porla's guild so far behind Fairy Tail he couldn't see it.

Now? Phantom Lord was catching up.

The Guild Masters of Fiore often got together for reunions. That is to say they got together to get a break from the insanity that is their guilds and responsibilities, as well as have some drinks and a good time. While Jose was invited, he almost always declined most. In fact, Makarov couldn't remember seeing him at a single gathering.

Until around six months ago, at least.

So it was easy to imagine Makarov's surprise when his sworn rival showed up to the meeting, smiling and pleasant as anything.

Now, a major part of the Guild Master meetings was bragging. Makarov had done his fair share himself. But _Jose…_

Well that's all he ever did when he went to the meeting. Makarov even had to watch the amount of alcohol he consumed during the event, so he wouldn't let his desire to smack Jose come to the surface.

And by god, did that man brag about one mage in particular. _David Robinson._

' _By far the most driven and motivated young man I have ever seen, one who inspires the best features in others, and is quickly becoming one of my strongest mages.'_ Makarov could still remember the exact words that Jose used to describe the boy in question. He had said them _so. Many. Times!_

Every, single, month! For six months! How could you go on and on about someone for that long?

Pushing his annoyance to the side, Makarov instead focused on the more pressing matter at hand, Jose himself. His fellow Wizard Saint was becoming more and more cocky, most likely due to his new rising star of a mage. This wasn't without a positive change in the man however, he was becoming more social, he was inspiring young mages, and his newfound publicity was being used to spread a positive message.

Perhaps… This was a sort of turnaround for Jose, Makarov thought. He was acting more like a Wizard Saint should, despite feeling the need to rub it in Makarov's face every chance he got.

But, the Fairy Tail's master could not deny what was in front of his eyes. An article written by Jose Porla which brought a tragedy to light, and would no doubt put many people at ease. And despite talking up his mages a bit, Makarov couldn't see this as a blatant publicity stunt.

The old man let out a small chuckle as he turned the page, it seems that his long time rival was turning over a new-

All his thoughts paused as he looked at the next two pages, and a grimace crossed his face.

' _Nope, nevermind. He's using them as a publicity stunt.'_

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

 **Lavender Crane's Exclusive Insight!**

 **This is Lavender Crane, intrepid reporter for Sorcerer Weekly, once more bringing Fiore the answers to their every question! Today, I'm interviewing David Robinson, the newest S-Class Mage in the Phantom Lord Guild, about the events that took place in Heiwana Village. It's** _ **very**_ **nice to meet you, David - can I call you David?**

Sure, I don't mind at all. It's nice to be here, Lavender.

 **I'm glad you think so. I'm sure my readers will think the same thing, too. So, David - you're the sixth S-Class Mage in Phantom Lord. And you're not just the newest, you're also the youngest - how is it that no one had ever heard anything about you before the incident in Balsam Village? I find it hard to believe that you were able to stay completely under the radar for so long.**

Well, that's mostly due to me not having awakened my magic till about what, nine months ago? Plus I really didn't start taking too many higher rank missions till about six months after I joined Phantom Lord. I had to actually figure out my magic first.

 **So you mean to say that you went from a complete rookie to an S-Class Mage in only nine months?**

Well, that is a fair point. But I didn't do it alone. I had the help of Master Jose and Totomaru to get me where I am today. I'll tell you, Totomaru can be a _powerful_ motivator at times. And Master's been very supportive of my training.

 **Ah yes, that would be your Guild Master Jose Porla, correct? The currently tenth-ranked Wizard Saint?**

Yes indeed.

 **Hmm. It's interesting that you assign him so much credit for your growth, really. A lot of people, Guild Masters in particular, don't seem to be too fond of him. Phantom Lord's track record of 'overzealous' takedowns and antagonistic behaviour has led many to say that he runs the Guild like a loose collection of bandits in his own personal fiefdom. As a Phantom Lord Mage yourself, what would you say to the people who think that way?**

Well I'd tell them to look at any other guild before judging ours. From what I know, every single guild has its own group of exceptional mages that are well known, and a large collections of lesser known mages that are still a part of the guild. As for how Jose runs the guild… Well I would say that he takes in anyone he sees potential in. They have to then tap into their own potential.

 **Well, we certainly know what** _ **you**_ **decided to do with** _ **your**_ **potential. It took a little sniffing around, but after Balsam Village I managed to pick out some of the other jobs you've taken. As far as I can tell you haven't failed a single job yet; all of the clients I've managed to track down seemed entirely pleased with the work you've done. You must have a real talent for magic, doing as much as you have so quickly.**

Well, speed's what I'm all about, and I firmly believe in putting the job and safety of the client first. As for being good at magic, well lets just say I have an overactive imagination.

 **An overactive imagination? Is that really what you credit your defeat of not one, but** _ **two**_ **rogue S-Class Mages to?**

I should rephrase that. It's probably due to the versatility that my magic provides. In terms of raw strength it's not much, but it can do a whole lot of different things. I've been able to use that versatility to defeat mages that are far above my league.

 **Oh? I thought that you just used High Speed Magic?**

K

No… I do not. I use _Speed Magic._ It lets me speed things up and slow them down. And I wouldn't be S Class if I used a weak magic like that.

 **Um...right. Sorry, I didn't realise that was a...sore subject…?**

You have no idea. Sorry about the chair.

 **It's...it's fine. So, uh...anyway. Speed Magic, you said? I've heard of High Speed Magic before, but I don't think I've ever heard of a Magic that deals with speed so broadly. Where did you learn it?**

Actually, it's the magic I'm naturally attuned to.

 **Really? Hmm. You know, a lot of people think that a Mage's natural power says a lot about the kind of person they are. With the way you've risen in the Magic world, I'd say it's quite true in your case.**

Thanks Lavender. I will admit I have been moving up rather quickly.

 **Oh, you've been** _ **quite**_ **the shooting star, David. In fact, a** _ **lot**_ **of people have been watching you** _ **very**_ **closely. Running to the rescue, slaying monsters, defending the innocent…**

When you put it like that I sound like a superhero, I'm just doing my job.

 **A...'superhero'? I think I've heard of those - they're from children's books, right?**

Yeah.

 **So, you're even in touch with your sensitive side…**

Uh… You could say that, yes.

 _ **Mmmm.**_ **So, David - we've talked about your magical accomplishments, and your accomplishments as a mage...but we** _ **haven't**_ **talked about the accomplishment that my readers** _ **really**_ **want to hear about.**

Which is…?

 **Three months ago, when you came into the limelight, you managed to rise to number nine on the 'Top Ten Mages You Would Want as Your Boyfriend' list. After the Heiwana Village incident, though, you've gone up to** _ **number three.**_ **That's a new record, in case you didn't know.**

...Oh, ok.

 **So, the question my readers** _ **really**_ **want answered is - what are you looking for in a girlfriend?**

Well, uh, funny thing is I already-

 **Oh, that wasn't the question I was asking, David.**

...Fine. Strength would be the most attractive thing for a woman to have in my opinion.

 **Oh, so you're one of** _ **those**_ **types.**

The type that likes strong women?

 **A maso-**

NO, no, definitely not. I just find strength to be an attractive trait for women to have. Strength of character, will, magic.

...Though I do prefer women with blue or blond hair.

 **Hmm, I see. Well, the next question I had was how much can your magic be used in the bed-**

I think I'm done with this interview Lavender.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

' _Oh no, that's fine. Just immediately use your mage as a publicity stunt and rub it in my face Jose. And right after I thought you were finally coming around.'_ Makarov thought, suppressing the urge to bang his head against the wall.

He let out a tired sigh, setting the magazine down and downing the rest of his beer. Mourning the size of the flagons in his Guild Hall, Makarov then rubbed his brow, a storm of thoughts whirling through his head.

Jose was taking maximum advantage of his new Mage's popularity, using it to give Phantom Lord a positive look in the public eye. His most well-known members were coming to be seen as accomplished mages who put the job and client above themselves. In contrast, Fairy Tail's recent publicity…

All they'd been covering for his guild was the wave of destruction that his mages left in their wake. He loved his members like his own children, and he'd stomp anyone who tried to constrain their spirits into pancakes, but even Makarov had to admit that many of them were reckless idiots that had no care for their surroundings.

...Alright, _technically_ the vast majority of Fairy Tail's publicity issues boiled down to the resident Dragon Slayer, but it wasn't like Erza and Gildarts had great track records either.

Makarov took his head out of his hands, an idea popping into his head.

' _Thinking about it...Gildarts has been on a rather extended vacation after getting injured.'_ He thought, a plan starting to from in his head.

He _was_ battling with Jose for good publicity, and no one had heard much from Fairy Tail's Ace in the better part of a year. ' _Perhaps it's time for him to start taking regular missions again, instead of only going for the hardest requests that are out there.'_ Makarov grinned, his bad mood somewhat vanishing. ' _If that's how you want to play it Jose, fine. I'll play your little publicity game.'_

It was time for Fairy Tail's Ace to come home. Makarov would contact him via lacrima as soon as possible.

... _Right_ after finishing reading Sorcerer Weekly. Hey, he may have been deprived of the centerfold, but that didn't mean there weren't still good pictures in there.

He was about to pick up the magazine when a soft knock at the main doors interrupted him. The Guild Master sighed. It seemed that he wouldn't be finishing his reading that tonight. "Mira, if that's you, I've already finished cleaning. You don't have to-"

Makarov was cut off as the door opened, a head of purple hair poking into the Guild hall.

"Master…I have something to tell you." Laki Olietta said, looking very distraught. "It's about… my dad."

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Far away from the Fairy Tail guild, an incredibly attractive blonde pined over a copy of Sorcerer Weekly. As she stared at the pages, slowly but surely a sly smile and a blush began to cross her face.

"Well _hello there_ tall, blond, and 100% my type."

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

 _Totomaru's POV_

Totomaru, Wendy and Carla were sitting around a table in the hospital's common room when it happened.

A not long had passed since Wendy had healed David and Totomaru's injuries, leaving all but the worst of the damage as nothing more than a memory. The Fire Mage himself was still in abject awe of the sheer magical power held in such a small girl. A lifetime's recovery, finished in just minutes...it was the kind of magic he'd only ever heard stories about.

He had no idea where the hell David had found her, but as he once more flexed his fingers just to feel the smoothness of the motion, he thanked whatever Gods were listening that he _had._

It had been a peaceful couple of days for Totomaru. Jose had taken David out of the hospital to do some kind of interview at one point, but that was the most interesting thing that had occured.

Well. Until Juvia found a copy of the latest Sorcerer Weekly lying on a table in the cafeteria.

Despite David's best effort, he had failed to dissuade her from opening it. And, because it just _wasn't_ their day apparently, she'd opened it on the _exact page_ of the interview.

Now, Totomaru was doing his best not to fall out of his seat as his laughter shook him in the way a hurricane-force wind shakes a wooden shack. Wendy was covering her mouth politely and looking away from the table, doing her best to stifle her giggles as Carla rubbed her forehead with a paw and shot irritated looks across the table.

In particular, she was looking at where Juvia was fussing over David like a particularly fluid mother hen, bombarding him with questions whose answers she never waited to hear. "Juvia, for the _fifth time,_ I'm _fine!_ Lavender didn't do anything to me!"

"But she was clearly flirting with David-sama!" Juvia declared, anxiously running her eyes and hands over the blond as if searching for some grievous wound that she'd missed in her last dozen inspections of the exact same locations. "She might have done something to him! Juvia must make sure David-sama is unharmed!"

"You can do that without trying to take off my pants!"

"Juvia cannot!"

" _Why not?!"_

"Juvia must be thorough!"

Totomaru grudgingly admitted to himself that he might have to stop the two before things went any further. There was a little girl sitting right across the table, after all, to say nothing of who else might walk into the cafeteria or hear them through the walls. "Okay you two, that's enough. We really don't want to know where the scary lady touched-"

He didn't get any further, unfortunately, before a white-furred paw smacked him on the arm with more force than he'd have thought a cat could produce. "Watch your language, you uncouth imbecile! Don't you know how to behave around a lady?!"

Totomaru wondered if she was talking about herself or about Wendy. To his mind, neither of them really fit that description.

"And _you!"_ Carla spoke up again, turning her paw on the couple across the table, who had frozen in the middle of what looked like a particularly complex exchange of martial-arts grappling maneuvers. "Please refrain from such vulgar activities! We're in a public place for heavens' sake!"

David had the grace to look rather guilty about the fuss they'd caused - Juvia...judging by her pout, not so much. Still, the two of them separated, sitting at opposite ends of the couch set against the wall which made up half of their table's seating. David let out a slightly relieved sigh, closing his remaining eye. Juvia just let out a huff and crossed her arms.

There was a short silence, broken when the Speed Mage looked up at Wendy. "So, how long did you say it would take to get an artificial eye?"

The blunette's head jerked up as she was addressed, her hands starting to fidget almost immediately. "W-well, Mister Porla told me that he already sent out the order for one, and it could take a few days for the message to get there…"

Totomaru raised an eyebrow. "He ordered it? What, in a mail-order catalogue?"

Wendy's fidgeting worsened, the young Mage ducking her head to look down into her lap. "I-I don't know, y-you'd have to ask Mister Porla…"

Totomaru grimaced internally. Apparently his usual ice-breaking wasn't going to work here. Continuing on as if unaware of Wendy's discomfort, he grinned at David. "Hey, David; bet you a hundred Jewels your new eye's cursed."

The blond snorted. "And I'll bet a hundred jewels you're an idiot." He replied, leaning back against the couch. "So, what do we think? Am I right?"

"I-I don't think we should…" Wendy began, but her soft voice was lost beneath Carla and Juvia's synchronised replies.

"David-sama is always right."

"I don't know how such an ignoramus ever became an S-Class Mage."

Totomaru gasped, pressing his left hand dramatically over his heart. He went to flip David off with his right, then remembered Wendy's presence and change the motion into an equally dramatic swoon, pressing the back of his right hand to his forehead. "Gah, I'm wounded!" He declared, drooping to the table with a drawn-out sigh. Twin sighs from Carla and Juvia were interspersed with quiet laughter from Wendy and David, leaving Totomaru to grin to himself against the table.

Waiting until things fell silent again, he drew himself back into a proper sitting position, grinning at David. "So then, about that interview-"

David groaned, tilting his head back to stare at the ceiling. "Oh God, don't you even _start_ with that-"

"Yes David-sama, what _about_ the interview?" Juvia interrupted him, her pout reaching legendary status as she turned to him. "Juvia would like to know just why David-sama didn't mention he was together with Juvia!" Tears started forming in the corners of her eyes, her lip quivering. "Is...is David-sama embarrassed of Juvia?"

David looked like he wanted to smash his head through the wall he was leaning against. "Like Hell I am, Juvia! I _did_ say I was in a relationship, I even tried to say who with, but they wouldn't _listen!_ They almost cut out the part of the interview where I tried to tell her the first time! When I pushed, they just refused to publish the fact that I'm in a relationship because they didn't want to 'tank their ratings'!" The Speed Mage made a wide, over-exaggerated gesture with his arms before folding them, looking clearly irritated as he sank into his seat. "Stupid reporters…"

"So what you're saying is, they're using you as a chick magnet to get more people to buy their magazine?" Totomaru asked, raising an eyebrow. "Or are they just crazy?"

" _Both!"_ David declared.

Juvia, her tears sinking into her cheeks as if they were never there, scooted up the couch to lean against David's shoulder as he sulked. With her nuzzling into his side, David's darkened mood lightened once more, the Speed Mage wrapping an arm around her shoulders and running his fingers through her hair. "No good, shameless, man-stealing reporters…" The Water Mage muttered, drawing a chuckle from both Totomaru and David.

"Well, they're not gonna steal _me_ , Juvia." The blond told her, leaning into her as she leaned into him. "I'm yours. Always will be."

Watching the couple make a spirited attempt to melt into one another, Totomaru looked over at Wendy. "Word of advice, kid - don't ever get involved with reporters." He paused, considering his two friends. "And when you get interested in that kind of thing, make sure you find someone with a good head on their shoulders."

Wendy blinked, looking more confused than anything, but nodded. "G-got it."

Carla, whose usual stern expression had softened somewhat as she watched David and Juvia, scoffed quietly as she turned away. "Are all S-Class Mages this eccentric?"

Totomaru considered the S-Class Mages of Phantom Lord, as well as all the ones he'd heard of or run into from other Guilds, and could only really answer one way. "Yeah."

The cat sighed.

Totomaru could relate.

He turned back to David and Juvia, drawing them back into meaningless conversation. His heart wasn't really in it, though - he was mostly busy watching David's eyes.

Despite the carefree attitude and bad humour that he usually affected, Totomaru was an S-Class Mage and he'd achieved that status the hard way. He had more life experience in his twenty-three years than some people who had lived thrice that long, and a fair share of that experience revolved around all the great and terrible things that he had seen and gone through on missions.

Totomaru had well in excess of two-hundred job requests under his belt, and he had _seen some shit._ He'd dealt with all the issues that had arisen in his life in his own ways, putting a lot behind him in the name of his continued ability to function as a human being. His coping mechanisms were sound and well-established.

This latest mission was no different. Watching his best friend being brutalised and almost killed, suffering a round of injuries that could well have killed him, coming face to face with that monstrosity of a Mage...they had left their marks on him, like the worst missions always did. Wendy had made things a lot easier to deal with, wiping away the physical trauma and making it that much easier to move on. What remained of the mental trauma he was more than able to handle himself.

But as he watched his friend, he realised that David _wasn't._

It wasn't obvious. In fact, Totomaru couldn't be completely sure he was seeing it even when he was looking right at it. But, as he looked at the dark bags already forming under David's eyes, heard the slight lethargic slurring in his usual quick-footed speech, saw how he placed more of his weight on Juvia than he would normally…

All the little things painted a bigger picture, and as the tapestry unravelled Totomaru felt guilt and regret flickering to life within him.

It was his fault. He'd chosen the mission, he'd let David go on ahead without backup, he'd left himself open for Zancrow's retaliation by getting cocky in front of the monstrous S-Class. Those were his mistakes, and David was paying for them.

The Speed Mage was meant to be strong - smiling and smirking, cracking jokes and hiding his amusement at Totomaru's latest terrible attempt at comedy.

He was still trying to - but something held David back, an unhealthy, pallid gray fog that was slowly blocking him away from the world. It muffled his laughter, dulled his eyes and tongue...

There wasn't any point in wondering what he could have done differently. There were a thousand things in his past that Totomaru would have done differently if he had the chance, but he'd long come to accept that he needed to face forward and learn from those mistakes rather than try to think of ways to fix things he could never change. He didn't have the time for a pity-party. All that mattered was that he needed to help his friend get over the blow he'd been dealt.

"M-mister Porla! You're back!"

Totomaru turned before Wendy had finished speaking, finding his Guild Master standing in the cafeteria's doorway with a couple of train tickets in his hand. There was...something off about him too, though. In a far cry from his usual appearance, Jose didn't look even slightly exhausted or permanently irritated with everything before him. In fact, he was... _smiling._

 _Beaming_ with happiness, even.

Totomaru was filled with a profound dread, and he could see David pale and swallow very obviously. Even Juvia's eyes seemed wider than usual.

"Ah, so this is where you all were." Jose commented, stepping forward. "Miss Marvell, Miss Carla, I have your pay here." He told the duo, handing the young blunette a folder that looked stuffed almost to bursting. From where he sat, Totomaru thought he could see the tell-tale colour of a Jewel bill where the folder's opening was struggling to remain closed. "You have my personal gratitude for the aid you've provided. Should we ever again have need of a gifted healer, we will be sure to come to you."

He paused. "It goes without saying that Phantom Lord will always open its doors to you - be it for a simple visit, or something more... _permanent."_

Wendy and Carla shared a _look_ , before Wendy turned back to Jose. There was markedly less of her usual shy demeanour present in her posture and eyes when she spoke. "Thank you, Mister Porla...but I don't think Carla and I are going to be leaving Cait Shelter any time soon."

Totomaru could have sworn that a brief look of disappointment flashed across Jose's features, but it was gone before he could be sure. ' _I guess being awake for so long can hamper even Jose's recruiting abilities...he didn't even give a speech.'_

"Of course, Miss Marvell." Jose replied, offering a respectful nod. Wendy returned the gesture, then got up from her seat and left with Carla, offering a quiet goodbye into the silence as the two headed out of the cafeteria.

Carla didn't take her eyes off Jose until the doors swung shut behind them.

Totomaru could damn near reach out and touch how awkward the atmosphere in the room was now, until David snorted and drew everyone's attention. "I think you scared her off, Jose."

The sly grin that the blond plastered on his face was so obviously forced, so shaky, that it was almost painful to look at it. Whether that was because of Jose's unnaturally upbeat mood or the trauma Zancrow had inflicted, Totomaru honestly wasn't sure.

"Oh, I don't know what _you_ find so amusing, David." Jose replied, his smile taking on an edge it hadn't had the moment before. "Especially since I've now decided _just_ how to punish you for your self-destructive idiocy."

David's attempted grin died.

"You are an important Phantom Lord Mage, so I can't afford to hamper you or your career _too_ much…" Jose continued, looking very much like a cat who had cornered a mouse.

In front of the Guild Master, David was hugging Juvia close like a child would try to fend off a nightmare with a favoured toy. The Water Mage didn't seem to mind what most would consider an uncomfortably tight hold, though - if anything her smile just widened as she snuggled deeper into his side. "W-what d'you mean by t-that, Master?" David managed to ask, his eye wide and his voice unsteady.

" _Well,"_ Jose said, voice dripping with sarcasm, "I want to be _sure_ that one of my Mages won't be acting in such in a reckless, self-destructive manner again. So I thought that the _perfect_ way to prevent such a thing would be to make sure that Mage was as capable as he could be. So, I decided to ask one of said Mage's _very best friends_ to help him with his training and development…"

David's fear momentarily became confusion. Then comprehension dawned, chasing all the blood from his face. "Jose...don't tell me-"

"Your training with Gajeel will start within the week." The Guild Master told him, his smile wide and sharp enough to affix to a weapon. "It might have taken the promise of as much iron as he can eat, but he's _very much_ looking forward to ensuring you're as strong as he can make you."

Totomaru could have sworn he saw David's soul making a spirited attempt to leave his body, and grinned to himself. Still, _something_ didn't feel quite right. "Master? 'Scuse me for pointing this out, but you seem a lot less...formal, than usual."

Jose turned his smile on Totomaru, who immediately regretted speaking up. "Totomaru, I have been awake for _thirty-six hours_ , bordering on _forty_ , and the only thing keeping me upright at this moment is a thirty-minute nap and a lethal dose of caffeine. At this moment, I feel I can be excused for choosing not to observe the usual formalities."

Totomaru really couldn't argue with that.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

 _David's POV_

 _God_ , I feel like shit.

The urge to find a bed somewhere, fall on it and then just _not exist_ for a week while I forgot the shitshow which was my recent history was almost overpowering. Unfortunately, my body seemed to have other ideas.

After Wendy healed me, there was a decent chunk of time we spent waiting for her to recover her magical power so she could move onto Totomaru. I spent that time attempting to take a nap...well, I did after spending some of that time convincing Juvia to leave the room so I could rest in peace. She took some convincing, but acquiesced in the end.

Once I was alone with my thoughts and fatigue, I'd been ready to lie down and get some proper, well-deserved _rest…_

And I didn't catch a single wink.

What really pissed me off was that I didn't know _why_. I'd slept just fine after talking with Juvia earlier in the day; it had actually been pretty restful. Yet after I was healed, no matter what I tried I just couldn't seem to lose consciousness. Maybe it was a result of losing my eye? Maybe it was some kind of lingering effect of my now-vanished injuries?

Whatever it was, it was starting to wear me down. My eye was itchy, my tongue felt swollen and dragged behind my mind when I spoke, and I was having trouble standing up straight as my muscles seemed to be losing energy steadily with no way to recoup it. For the entire ride home, Juvia more or less had to hold me up.

I paused in my thinking. ' _Huh...so Oak Town is 'home' now…'_

...A lot really had changed, since that first day I got my shit kicked in by an overgrown monkey.

The monkeys kicking my shit in were a lot tougher these days, for one thing.

Once the train finally reached our stop, Jose, Juvia, Totomaru and I all disembarked. Well, the _others_ disembarked. What I did wasn't anywhere near graceful enough to deserve more than a one-syllable description - probably something like 'crash' or 'splat'. I'd have fallen face-first onto the platform if not for Totomaru's quick reflexes anchoring me by my shoulder. "Dude, are you okay?"

"Yeah, 'm fine. J'st tired." I replied, wincing internally as sounds dropped from my words like sand through a colander.

Totomaru pulled me upright once more, and as I settled myself on my feet again I caught Jose's eye. He looked so viciously smug that it made my skin crawl, and I thought I saw him mouthing the word ' _suffer'_ at me. ' _You're a vindictive bastard, Jose...but somehow I think I'm tired enough to relate to you anyway.'_

My half-hearted, half-assed (and half-eyed) glare was cut off, however, when something gently but firmly impacted the back of my knees and I fell backwards. Another something supported my shoulders, and I found myself softly lifted into a warm hold. A quick look up revealed Juvia, who had apparently lifted me into a bridal carry.

"Juvia will escort David-sama home and see that he is taken care of." She declared. Neither Totomaru or Jose raised a word in protest.

Smart men.

Juvia immediately turned on her heel, making her way to my house at a rather impressive speed - even by _my_ standards. As we went, I looked back at Totomaru over Juvia's shoulder with an expression that probably _screamed_ 'help me'.

My best friend - one of the two people on Earthland that I absolutely trusted with my life - did _not_ step forward to defend my need for a quiet rest period, _or_ my chastity. Instead, he clicked his heels together and delivered a textbook salute, mouthing four words that sealed my fate.

"Godspeed, you lucky bastard."

I managed to flip him off as I was carried away, sighing to myself as I slumped against Juvia. ' _Welp. There goes my virginity.'_

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

It wasn't long at all before Juvia and I arrived back at my house and I was dumped on my bed. "Juvia will be with David-sama in a moment." My girlfriend told me. "Juvia just needs to… _prepare_ something for him."

She exited my room as quickly as she'd entered, leaving me alone with my thoughts…

And the incredible annoyance that I hadn't passed out upon hitting the bed. Seriously, what the hell? I felt more tired than I could recall ever feeling before, why couldn't I just slip away into dreamland already?

...Oh, yeah, probably because most of my energy was being pulled into figuring out how I was going to deal with Juvia.

I wasn't going to kid myself. I wasn't going to entertain obliviousness or personal delusions. The simple fact of the matter was that Juvia was probably going to try and get into my pants as soon as she walked back through that door, and I had _several_ problems with that.

None of them was a lack of desire, it bore saying. I wanted her. Oh, _God_ I wanted her. She hit _every damn button_ , and the things I'd seen in her wardrobe that one time she asked me to 'help move some furniture around'...

My mind started drifting off, and I smacked myself in the face to try and regain control. ' _Bad David! Don't let the hormones think for you!'_

I might have been spending a _little_ too much time around Juvia; her tendency to drift off into lurid daydreams was apparently rubbing off on me. I could only hope that the rest of her personality wasn't doing likewise, because that would just be utterly horrifying for everyone involved.

Still. No matter how much I wanted it, wanted _her_ , there were good reasons not to take the opportunity.

As things were between us, it would be too much like taking advantage of her. In fact, I wasn't sure it wouldn't just be straight-up taking advantage of her. So long as we were both consenting and of-age then by the standards of my…my 'old home', things were fine. The problem was Juvia's emotional maturity...or, rather, lack thereof.

It was fair to say that Juvia hadn't the slightest idea of how a proper relationship should work, or how quickly they should progress. I'd guess it was because she was so desperate for a relationship of any kind, having been isolated for so long, that she wanted to experience everything she could as quickly as possible…

Hell, for all I knew her entire knowledge of relationships is probably taken from trashy smut novels she's read over the years.

…

 _Waitasecond._

I got up from my bed, fatigue momentarily forgotten, and padded silently to my living room while I prayed silently to whatever deities may have been listening that I would be wrong about-

I peered around the corner. I suppressed the urge to violently facepalm. ' _The one time I have to be totally right.'_

Juvia was sitting on the couch, Gale Force Reading Glasses perched on her face as she poured over a book. A pile of similar books were scattered over the coffee table in front of her. And as if the images I could see on the books' covers weren't enough to tell me _exactly_ what they contained, well…

Juvia had taken her dress off. I had no idea where it had gone, but it certainly wasn't on _her._ She still had her underwear on, thankfully, but it was...well…

I now knew why the word 'lingerie' existed.

I stood stunned for a solid ten seconds while I watched my semi-naked girlfriend read smut like a soldier reading Sun Tzu, her glasses turning the image into something out of a Sexy Librarian fantasy, while I did pitched battle with my hormones.

It was a gruelling conflict, fought with dirty tactics and dirtier weapons on both sides, casualties mounting higher by the second as the fog of war clouded my higher brain functions. Then, the whole thing went up in smoke as I realised _someone_ up there was _fucking with me,_ and righteous indignation gave my brain a rock to rally around and rout the hormones for another day.

I walked to the couch without Juvia ever noticing I was there, then plucked the book from her hands. She must have been really focussed on it, because she took a second to just blink and adjust when it vanished before quickly looking up at me.

Closing the book, I turned it over and looked at the cover. "A Beginner's Guide to Pleasing Your Man." I read aloud, closing my eye and resisting the urge to thump my forehead against the book until I found oblivion.

Juvia didn't say anything - but her expression was the picture perfect 'hand in the cookie jar' look of someone who knows there's nothing they can do to get out of this situation. Reaching down to the table, I lifted up another book. "Intoxicating Magic - A Story of Forbidden Love."

I cringed, even as I picked up a third book. "Mages and Maidens - The Chains of Desire."

There was a long, silent pause as I put the last book down on the table. Juvia looked a bit embarrassed, and I…

I was just _done._ I was 100% completely, honestly _done_ with this situation, and it was time I did something about it. The fact that the third book was written by _Lavender Crane_ of all people was more than enough to motivate me into action.

"So." I began, looking down at Juvia. "You hate that Lavender hit on me - yet you're still reading her books for, and _please_ correct me if I'm wrong, _relationship advice?"_

…

"Juvia can explain."

"I really don't think Juvia can."

I sighed, vaulting over the couch to plop down next to Juvia and hoping like hell she didn't notice how I nearly bounced right off again to land on the table. Leaning back against the cushion, I just _sighed._ "Juvia, just... _why?"_

My girlfriend turned to me, glowing a light red with embarrassment. "W-well, Juvia was just going over her notes-"

" _Notes?"_

"Yes, her notes. Juvia hasn't been in a relationship before so she had to go out and research how they work." She paused, fidgeting a bit where she sat. "...Juvia doesn't want to disappoint David-sama by being an inexperienced girlfriend…"

I closed my eye. "So, you decided that the best place to start researching relationships was trashy romance novels?"

Juvia's head drooped. "Yes…"

I resisted the urge to rub my temples. "And you're in your underwear because…?"

"Because that is the next step in relationships!" Juvia replied, suddenly perking up. "Once the man reveals that he loves the girl, the next step is for them to consummate their love! He usually pins the girl up against the wall right after the confession, but David-sama was too injured for that kind of thing at the time, so Juvia wanted to surprise him once he had recovered." She paused, her energy dying down as she turned red again. "But, Juvia...wasn't sure exactly _how…"_

Well. At least that explained the 'how to please your man' book; Juvia had apparently never been given The Talk.

If I'd had the energy available to me, I would have rolled off the couch and made an impassioned effort to demolish the nearest wall with my forehead alone. Instead, I settled for a long, loud groan as I ignored the building headache of my hormones and rationality reigniting hostilities.

There was only one course of action I could possibly take. I hated that fact, but it was the truth.

I was going to have to give Juvia 'The Talk'.

Stretching an arm around my shoulders, I pulled my girlfriend close while keeping my eye fixed on the wall in front of me. Her head fit perfectly in the space between my neck and shoulder, a presence that was as comforting to the heart as it was genocidal to my brain cells.

Still. Needs must as Lavender Crane drives.

"Juvia...that's not how relationships work."

The blue hair in my peripheral vision shifted, indicating Juvia had turned to look up at me. "But-"

I glanced sideways, just for a moment, so I could press my finger to her lips and cut off whatever she had been about to say. "Just...just listen to me for now, Juvia." There was a pause, then my girlfriend nodded and I was clear to continue. "Relationships - _real_ relationships - bear about as much resemblance to the things in your romance novels as Totomaru does to a funny person."

That certainly shocked her into silent attention. It was a fairly massive difference, after all.

"We've been dating for...two weeks in total, now. I know it's felt like much longer, months even but we're _barely_ through the first stages of our relationship. Hell, I don't think we've been on an actual, proper _date_ yet."

I paused, looking for the right words. "Honestly, it's way too early for us be thinking about having sex. We both need time to get to know each other better, to...mature emotionally, before we take that step. I don't want to just take advantage of our relationships 'honeymoon' stage for something that might push us apart in the long run."

Juvia gave me a funny look. "Honeymoon stage?"

"Basically, when a couple can't keep their hands off one another at the start of their relationship."

"Ah…"

The two of us lapsed into silence, sitting together on the couch. The only real sounds were our breathing and the quiet _tick_ of the clock on the wall. I was a bit worried about how well Juvia was taking what I was telling her, and I was only a few seconds from breaking the silence myself when she spoke up. "W-was Juvia too forward? Did she...make David-sama uncomfortable?"

I sighed. "No, Juvia, you didn't. I'd be lying-" ' _Really,_ really _lying.'_ "-if I said that I didn't enjoy all the time we've spent together. I just think that we're going a bit too fast at the moment, and I'd rather we slow down than do something that we both regret later."

Juvia looked rather sad for a moment, which consequently made me feel like I had just personally stomped an entire pet shop's population into puddles, before she seemed to reach some resolution. Her entire face broke into a peaceful smile like sun from behind the clouds, and she once more dropped her head onto my shoulder as she snuggled closer. "David-sama...thank you. For caring about Juvia."

My own face pulled into a smile, even as I suppressed most of a yawn. "It's what a boyfriend's for, Juvia."

She giggled, and warm lips pressed a kiss to my cheek. "Well, David-sama had best take Juvia on a date soon. He's kept her waiting long enough."

"I will." I promised. "And it'll be the best damn date you'll ever have."

Juvia chuckled, holding me tighter, and I closed my eye as I leaned into the embrace.

This felt...right.

…

Now if only my hormones would calm the fuck down and let me forget that Juvia was still mostly naked.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

After a few more minutes spent together on the couch, Juvia reluctantly decided that I was in desperate need of rest and bid me farewell for the day. As she closed the door gently behind her, I caught a glimpse of a sky stained in orange and pink by the setting sun. I hadn't realised it was getting that late.

Still, that realisation came secondary to the breath I let out once the door clicked shut. ' _Oh, thank God she decided to put her clothes back on. I don't think I could have lasted another minute with her dressed like that.'_

It would have made me a hypocrite of the first order to jump Juvia after the talk I'd had with her, but Juvia was hard enough for me to keep my eye off when she was fully dressed. Without that extra barrier of clothing, being anywhere near her was an almost inhuman exercise in resisting temptation.

' _I really need a shower. A cold,_ _ **cold**_ _shower.'_

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

One refreshing shower later, I threw my towel to the side of the room and flopped down on my bed with a sigh of relief. ' _Finally, I can get some fucking_ sleep.'

With that thought I wrapped my blankets around myself, snuggling into my bed fully prepared for a long night's rest.

…

…

…

' _Fuck me, this is gonna be a long night, isn't it.'_

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Fuck insomnia, fuck fatigue, and fuck me. Not necessarily in that order.

The clock by my bed told me it had been hours since I first settled down to sleep - and in between then and the present moment, I had tried _everything_ to drop off.

I'd taken a warm bath. I'd drunk warm milk, getting through almost a gallon before I had to stop. I tried counting sheep - and incidentally, did you know you can count to 1,500 before you decide to try something else? _BECAUSE I FUCKING DO!_

I was a hundred percent done with today when I laid down. Now, I was hovering at somewhere around 300% _fuck. This. SHIT!_

It felt like I was losing my goddamn mind. I was so unbelievably tired I could barely form a coherent thought.

...Okay, admittedly I didn't get along well with coherent thought on the best of days, but that didn't come with the handicap of feeling so horribly run-down. And worse, despite being awake for so long, I still had no idea what was causing it! I'd thought of _everything_ , dammit! I'd even checked the area around my house in case this was the work of an enemy Mage!

' _God, I just hope the exhaustion will be able to knock me out.'_ I thought to myself. ' _If I'm lucky, it'll be sooner rather than la-'_

Then I passed out, sagging against the bed with a smile on my face.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

 _It's too hot._

 _I open both my eyes, and all of a sudden there's nothing around me but_ fire. Fire _as black as the smoke it spawns, eating away at everything, burning all the houses into bright orange embers and ashes gray as death. I can barely breathe, and suddenly I'm falling, falling indefinitely, my body broken, bleeding and burned._

 _So badly burned._

 _And he won't. Stop._ _ **Laughing.**_

 _I can hear him cackling. Someone is screaming, but then I hear the_ _ **terrible, awful**_ _sound of whooshing flames, and then nothing is left but his crazed noise. My body is useless and I can't move, I'm helpless, like the weight of the world is keeping me pinned. I can only see on one side, and two children are running away from the fire. I recognize them: they're the two I rescued._

 _I lock eyes with the girl for a split second, and I can see the terror in her eyes, her desperation to get away, the pleading for me to come and save her again._

 _The fire envelops them both in dark flames. I can't do anything but watch as they burn to death._

 _Suddenly everything shifts. It's dark, but the fire is still raging, circling above me in shades of black, burning me, melting me, singeing me. I still can't move, no matter how hard I struggle and his goddamn_ _ **laughing**_ _doesn't stop. It's everywhere, in my head, in my blood, disgusting and vile and crazy and_ _ **evil-**_

 _And then he's crouching in front of me, smiling like a lunatic and ripping my eye out._

 _painPAIN_ _ **PAIN**_ _P̷̡̘̹̲͖̺͖̩̩̅̒ ̷̢̧̡̘̬͈̻̯̗͓̟͎̋̾Ằ̶̢̡̘͕͎̘̙́͐͌͒͗̈͗͛͝͠ ̴͎̬͉̟̤͇̬̤̱̝̇́̀̀̃̐̇͝Î̵̪̼͎̤͍̤͚͓̩̲̪̀̄̿ ̵͈̝̲̿͒̔͋͗̀̎͝N̸̮̬̊͋͗̏̆̀ ̸̧̫̼̫̜̼̲̮̫͂͗̉́͐̅̈͆̍͂̍͜͜_

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Ironically enough, I woke up in a cold sweat.

I bordered on hyperventilation as I tried to pull as much fresh air into my lungs as they could hold, hoping to chase away the dream-smoke still tearing at my throat. I couldn't stop clawing at my chest, and even after I recognised I was in my bedroom my heart continued to race. Even with my magic and the adrenaline from the nightmare, it seemed to be going too fast for the rest of me to keep up.

I sat up, finding that I'd thrown my bedsheets across the room at some point. I hadn't closed the curtains before I went to sleep; the pallid white glow of the full moon seeped through the glass and spread in a pool around my sparsely furnished room. I could feel a cool breeze blowing in from the small gap I always left the window open to.

The night was cool.

I was still burning.

Unbidden, my hand moved to cover my right eye...where my right eye used to be. I could feel the heat radiating from beneath the eyepatch I wore; the urge to tear it off was almost irresistible.

Almost.

I pulled my shirt off and tossed it on the floor, letting my skin breathe as I just sat. ' _So that's why I couldn't sleep.'_

I was no stranger to nightmares. No matter how much time passed since I had arrived, I still found my sleep was haunted by memories of my life before Earthland. Flashes of past friends and family, snatches of a life I'd left behind. They danced behind my eyes and tormented me while I rested.

Well. They said misery loved company; I could only hope Zancrow murdered the bitch.

It would be just like that monster to crawl out of hell and into my damn eye-socket. Piece of shit, broken-ass Natsu-mirror-image spawn of Mashima's need to sell more issues…

I wondered if it was the nightmares it _knew_ would come that stopped my body from letting me sleep, or if it was something else. Maybe I was still worrying about Zancrow, even if I didn't realise it?

I didn't know myself well enough to be sure.

There was no way I could go back to sleep. The nightmares were waiting just beyond my little circle of moonlight, I was sure of it. Even as the burning faded and I was left tired as hell and drenched in sweat, laughter echoed in the back of my mind and black flames flickered in the shadows.

So, since I wasn't going back to sleep anytime soon…

What did I do now?

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

In the end, I threw on a tank top and tracksuit bottoms before leaving home with my hands in my pockets.

Oak Town was almost silent at night.

It was tranquil. Peaceful. The cobblestone streets were easy to see beneath the moonlight, and with nothing currently happening in the sleepy castle town everyone was in bed. No one to wander the streets; not even drunks or thieves. People knew better than to act out in a small town with a major Guild Hall.

That was fine by me.

I spared a glance for the Guild Hall in the distance, clenching a fist around the fabric of my pocket's interior.

Some fucking Phantom Lord Mage I turned out to be. I couldn't even handle a lousy nightmare…nightmare _s_.

Because what a big fucking difference that made.

I stewed in my own thoughts for a while, knowing but uncaring of the way my emotions festered. I left my feet to their own devices as my mood became dark, darker yet darker, not paying the world around me any attention so long as there was still something for me to walk on as I tried to pace away from everything.

When I finally paid attention to the world outside my head once more, I found myself standing on a familiar street, and looked up.

Juvia's house. Of course.

I had no idea how long I just stood there, staring at her house like an idiot. Part of me screamed that I should move on and leave her to her sleep; if I knocked on the door at this unholy hour she'd probably freak out and worry. That rational part of me kept up its screeching even as I stepped up to her door and knocked, as softly as I could manage with trembling hands.

I didn't know what else to do.

A minute passed. There was a slight shuffling sound from inside, then my girlfriend peeked out through the slightest crack she opened in the door. A moment later the portal opened completely, its creak echoing out through the street. I hoped it didn't wake anyone else.

Juvia had her hair down, and was wearing a simple blue robe. She looked understandably confused. "David-sama?"

"Hey."

Silence, for a moment. Then Juvia spoke again. "...Is David-sama alright?"

"...No." Tonight wasn't the time for lies.

More silence. "Can...can I come in?"

Juvia moved aside without a word, and I shuffled inside. She closed the door behind me a moment later, even as I looked around.

I had been to her house before, of course, but I didn't remember it looking so much like her room in Fairy Hills did in the anime. It was simple, neat and tidy. The only major difference I could have pointed out was the little blond doll on her couch that looked suspiciously like me.

"David-sama…what's going?" Juvia asked, laying a gentle hand on my shoulder as I stood still just a few steps from the door. "David-sama seemed fine when Juvia left earlier…"

I spent a few moments searching for the words to use, then gave up in disgust and just _spoke._ "I couldn't sleep." I mumbled, running a hand through my hair. Ah...I'd left my beanie at home, hadn't I… "Anxiety or...or _somethin,_ I don't know. I...I think that fight fucked me up. Badly."

There was a soft sigh from behind me, before the hand on my shoulder turned me gently around and pulled me into a soft embrace. Despite everything, tension flowed out of me as I returned the hug, sagging out of my ramrod stiffness with each passing moment. "Oh, _David…"_ Juvia murmured, tightening her grip.

My lip twitched. It had taken her long enough.

We ended up just sitting on the couch, silently holding one another exactly as we had in my home but, somehow, in a completely different way. I felt myself almost falling asleep at times.

I stayed awake though, and after a few minutes Juvia shifted. A warm hand gripped my own and I was gently pulled up from the couch and led deeper into the house. "Juvia?"

She still didn't say anything. Part of me worried that I had somehow upset her, but it was overshadowed by my curiosity as she opened the door to her bedroom and led me inside, pulling me by the hand until I stood by her bed.

Then she turned to look at me with an expression that revealed absolutely nothing. "Take off your clothes."

And with that, the silence was broken by the sound of me spending several seconds choking on my own saliva. " _What?!"_

"You heard Juvia."

"Juvia, we _just had_ this talk-"

Juvia's cheeks puffed out, and in some arcane moment where I couldn't follow her movements she pressed her hand to my forehead. "David-sama feels hot and feverish. He needs to cool down before he can think about trying to sleep."

I stared into her eyes for a long moment, not saying anything, before doing as she said. I left myself my tank-top and boxers, though.

Wordlessly, Juvia fixed up her sheets and turned down the bed. She took my hand again, and this time it was pleasantly cool to the touch. Cool, calm and still.

Like water.

I sighed quietly as her fingers intertwined with mine, the heat I had barely even noticed draining away into the calming touch. It almost felt like all of my problems, all of my fatigue, were being washed away. I didn't raise even a slight protest as Juvia pushed me gently into the sheets, leaving her as just about the only thing that I could see.

A moment later she lay down beside me, and she was my entire world.

Her arms wrapped around me, and in a fleeting moment the last of the burning died. Heat and fatigue and phantom burns were lost in her presence, and as she pressed my head into her chest I sagged with the weight of sandbags on my limbs. Her her hands held my face, her lips pressing gently against my forehead and suddenly, the flickering tongues of my thoughts gave way to a calm I had almost forgotten.

I wasn't tired. I didn't feel hot. The echoing laughter was drowned out by the quiet rush of water, and the shadows of the room were the solemn depths of still water.

I fell asleep.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

 _Juvia lay on her bed, her beloved David-sama cradled in her arms. There were countless things she wished to tell him, but not a single world passed her lips to disturb the quiet. Not a single syllable rose to dare interrupt his rest._

I'm here for you.

You're not alone.

I'll protect you from it all.

 **I love you.**

 _Not a word was spoken._

 _As she held him close, the tears she shed for two so her love didn't have to as silent as distant rain, they weren't needed._

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

To my surprise, when I awoke in her bed the next day it was to find that Juvia _wasn't_ fussing over me. Instead, I was greeted by the utterly _divine_ smell wafting its way through the room and teasing my nostrils. My ears pricked up and caught a semi-distant sizzling noise, and putting two and two together I arrived at the obvious conclusion:

 _Food._

Specifically, _**bacon.**_

My body had a special kind of autopilot when bacon was involved. It got me vertical in a series of jerky movements, then slowly zombie-shuffled me out of the room and in the direction of the heavenly aroma like a body possessed. Only opening my eye the barest crack, I made my way through the house to the kitchen.

"Good morning, David-sama!"

"Mmmmm."

Unfortunately, my autopilot didn't come with a thought-to-speech function.

I found the couch and flopped face-down onto it with no ceremony whatsoever. I was still half-to-two-thirds asleep, and the energy it had taken to walk into the kitchen from the bedroom was all I was willing to exert after just waking up.

"Juvia hopes David-sama is hungry!"

I hoped she could hear my muffled groan of acknowledgement.

"Juvia made bacon and eggs, and pancakes, and Juvia found this lovely maple syrup in the marketplace this morning! There's also milk and tea and coffee, and orange juice, and a few other things Juvia thought David-sama might like!"

It then occurred to me that, being in autopilot, I hadn't even looked in my girlfriend's direction. In fact, the last time I acted like this in the morning was when I still lived with my...my old family.

I really was getting comfortable with her.

I managed to push myself up off the couch's seats, resting my chin on its back so I could pry my eye open and take a look at what I'd be eating. "...Juvia."

"Yes, my love?" She called, her back turned to me as she fried more bacon over the fire.

" _This,_ " I gestured, "is not _breakfast._ _This,_ is a _buffet."_

"Of course!" Juvia chirped. "Only the best for David-sama! This way, David-sama can eat whatever he prefers, and there isn't the possibility of him going hungry!"

Juvia's relatively small kitchen had been filled to bursting with what could only be described as an _absolute smorgasbord_ of food. Everything Juvia had listed was there in abundance, along with quite a few things she definitely hadn't named.

"That's a fruit basket." I noted, once again displaying the truth depths of my genius.

Juvia, humming a tune, doused the fire with a flick of her wrist and slid the bacon from the pan onto a plate. Then, still the height of joviality, she twirled around to present me with the full meal. "Eat up!"

My stomach responded for me with a low growl. ' _Challenge accepted.'_

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

After the most satisfying breakfast I could ever recall eating, I bid Juvia goodbye and headed back to my own house. I'd decided that I was going to take a much-needed _me_ day; just one day off before Jose forced Gajeel to kick my ass back into gear.

I _really_ wasn't looking forward to that.

Still, that could wait until tomorrow. _This_ day was all, about, me-

And then someone knocked on my door.

My eyebrow twitched. ' _Who, the HELL,_ _ **DARES-'**_

"David-sama! Are you there?"

…

Of course.

I think Jose might be starting to rub off on me if this is how I feel about guests. Is that better or worse than Juvia rubbing off on me, I wonder…

Opening my door revealed my girlfriend, standing with a bright smile on her face, with a luggage train worthy of Erza Scarlett herself piled long and high behind her. "Hello, David-sama!"

' _Oh no.'_ "Hey, Juvia...what's in all the luggage?"

"All of Juvia's worldly belongings."

I stared. "... _why?"_

"Because Juvia is moving in with David-sama."

…

"...We _just_ had-"

"No!" Juvia cut in. "This isn't about the talk, David-sama, or about our relationship. This is about _you."_

I raised an eyebrow as I took an unconscious step back. "What do you mean it's about me?"

Juvia took a step forward, her smile exchanged for an expression of concern. "David-sama, you aren't well. From what you told Juvia you didn't sleep last night until you passed out from exhaustion. And then when you _did_ sleep, you woke up almost immediately from horrible nightmares!"

I felt something throbbing behind my eyesockets. "So you decided to move in?!

"Yes!" Juvia agreed, nodding happily. "When David-sama came over to Juvia's house, she realised something. When she held him, David-sama was able to sleep! And he didn't wake up, or have any nightmares!"

...Well, I couldn't argue with that. Not least because it was a fact and not an argument she was making. Still, that didn't explain why she decided to up and...move...in… ' _Oh dear God.'_ "So, you decided to…"

"Move in with David-sama so that Juvia can make sure that he gets proper rest and doesn't suffer from nightmares anymore?" She asked brightly. "Yes, Juvia did."

I couldn't have kept the fond smile off my face even if I wanted to try. "Well then...make yourself at home."

* * *

 **That's a wrap.**


	10. Iron Will

**A.N**

 **Once again I have gotten off my ass and worked on this fic. There is a lot that's going on irl and this has kind of taken the backseat for a while.**

 **I would like to thank Teninshigen for being my friend and editor, as well as Xanathos and TheLonelyWillow for being with me every step of the way.**

 **Also, I have uploaded new artwork for the cover, but I also have more artwork in reserve.**

 **So I'll let you choose. You can pick between the cover being David and Juvia, or David using his magic. You have a choice of Red, Gold, Blue or Purple for the color.**

 **Also, feel free to PM me your answers, or if you have any questions about the story in general. Or if you just want to talk!**

 **Anyway, I hope you enjoy.**

* * *

"...Could you run that by me one more time Gajeel?"

The Dragon Slayer scoffed, ignored my question, and started munching on his third iron girder of the morning. Apparently, when Jose said it took the promise of 'As much iron as he could eat' to get Gajeel to help train me, he wasn't kidding in the slightest.

Gajeel told me to meet him outside of Oak Town for training when I got to the Guild Hall this morning. Though it was more like the afternoon, seeing as sleeping with Juvia the night before put me out like a log.

As in 'sleeping in the same bed'. Get your mind out of the gutter.

I can barely _get_ to sleep, let alone stay there, if Juvia isn't close at hand. Considering how much she was relying on me not two months ago, the sudden reversal of positions is almost hilarious.

Almost.

Anyway, it wasn't too terribly difficult to find where Gajeel wanted me to meet him. Mostly because there was a big enough pile of iron, in every form from girders to cutlery, to be seen over any reasonable treeline.

Seriously, there was enough metal there to build a skyscraper from. The idea of Gajeel eating all of that boggled the mind...even though I had just watched him eat _an entire girder._ I had _no_ idea where he was putting it all, and as he looked back to me after finishing off the last few inches, I decided I didn't really _want_ to know either.

"I said, we ain't doin' anything but physical training until you get your eye," he said, standing up from where he'd been seated on a freshly-fallen tree-trunk and cracking his neck.

"That's fine," I decided after a moment, "just...how are we gonna do that?"

Gajeel looked at me like I was an idiot. "Ya ever heard of weight training?"

Sweat started forming on my brow. "...Yes."

"Well, that's what we're doing," the Dragon Slayer continued.

I made a point of looking around the open area Gajeel had apparently made to house his new stash. "I don't see any weights around here…"

My hands flew to my forehead to clutch a new bruise as a small iron nugget bounced off me at considerable speed. "'Course you don't, I haven't made 'em yet. Come over here."

I made my way over to him and Gajeel held up a hand. "Alright, just gimme a sec." He aimed his palm at the ground, splaying the fingers, and a moment later a green magic circle with a distinctly draconic theme flashed into existence.

...In a strange kind of way, Gajeel was the most complicated person I had become friends with since joining Phantom Lord, despite being a total blunt instrument of a human being. On the one hand, he treated anyone who _wasn't_ S-Class as being worth roughly as much attention as a really irritating ant – as if they were quite literally so far beneath his notice that caring for their wellbeing would be an active waste of his time. In all fairness, though, Phantom Lord Mages below the S-Class were probably the second most annoying group of people I had ever countered.

Right after Totomaru and before reporters.

On the other hand, when it came to his fellow S-Class Mages...well….

That was when things got complicated.

Aria, Sol, Totomaru and I he treated as acquaintances for the most part. He actually paid us some attention, but it was still the equivalent of nodding to someone on your way into work.

To Juvia he was practically an older brother, rough and maybe a bit distant but still caring in his own way. Thankfully he'd apparently taken the fact that I made Juvia happy as a good thing rather than considering me getting closer to her as a threat of some kind, since he didn't make a single serious attempt to kill me even after Juvia and I became a thing.

There were a few _non-serious_ attempts of course, but Gajeel did that to everyone.

He'd warmed up to me some over that time, and even more once I became S-Class myself, but even after all this time he was honestly about as warm as a cold fork.

" **Iron Dragon's Armor!"**

A bright flash of green light interrupted my thoughts, my eye tracking to the flash's source to discover a simple-looking set of iron armor laying on the ground where Gajeel had been pointing his hand. Separate gauntlets, boots, a chestplate and a helmet.

I could only guess that these were going to be my weights...but I was honestly kind of surprised. "Gajeel, how the fuck did you just _make_ a set of armor?"

The Dragon Slayer looked at me like I'd grown a second head. "Did ya get your brains pulled out with your eye, blondie? I make things with iron. This ain't shit."

"Yeah, I know that," I protested, "but just... _poofing_ a set of iron armor into existence? I didn't think you had the..."

A dangerous light appeared in Gajeel's eyes. "Had the _what,_ blondie?"

I swallowed. "...Finesse?"

I had to call on my magic to sidestep the fist-width iron pillar that rocketed through the space my gut had occupied a bare second earlier, then began retracting into Gajeel's extended arm. "I've got more _finesse_ than you _ever_ will," the Dragon Slayer snorted.

"Big man's got a sensitive side," I noted.

Gajeel, who had been beginning to turn away, shot me an evil eye over his shoulder. "Just for that, I'm gonna work you twice as hard."

I grimaced. Me and my big fucking mouth.

"Armor on and mouth shut, blondie," Gajeel instructed, snagging the chestplate with one arm and tossing it to me negligently.

I grabbed it from the air as it approached, then quickly found myself grateful for the physical training I had done while I was working on the Six Powers because _holy shit_ this thing was _heavy._ As I firmed my grip on it and lifted it over my head to put it on, I glanced down and paled slightly as I _sank_ a good inch into the dirt.

"Out of curiosity," I grunted as I manhandled the armour, "how much does this _weigh?"_

"Chestplate's about three times your weight," Gajeel told me, "everything else is as heavy as you are."

The armour almost _collapsed_ onto my shoulders, and I'd barely let my knees adjust before I had to catch the gauntlets that were thrown at me. Those clicked onto my arms and made it infinitely harder to catch the boots and helmet, each of which Gajeel lifted with one hand respectively.

"So you're making me wear _eight times my body weight_ for training?" I asked, struggling to lift my legs properly to step into the boots. When I _did_ finally get into them, after about five cases of almost falling over and undoubtedly getting myself stuck when I did, I was sinking a good two or three inches into the earth just standing still.

"Yeah. Workin' eight times as hard as usual should do for a start," Gajeel replied, and I favoured him with a completely deadpan look even as my muscles started crying out just from the effort of standing upright in the stupidly heavy armor.

"Seriously though, how _did_ you make all this?" I asked. "I mean, I know you can make things with iron, but I didn't know you could do detail stuff or density."

"Gah, you just don't quit with the questions, do you?" Gajeel asked as he pulled a girder from his pile and took a bite out of it. "I don't do it often, but I can make detailed shit if I just focus for a bit. There's no trick to it or anything – it's just magic."

"You say that," I grumbled, "but—"

Clumsy and weighed down as I was in the armor, I had no way to evade the iron pillar Gajeel's arm became before it slammed into my gut. The wind left me in an instant, and even with all the weight pressing on me I was lifted and thrown a couple feet apiece before crashing down to the dirt and leaving a me-shaped indent.

"Oh just _shut up,_ will ya? The sound of your voice is startin' to piss me off," Gajeel complained, retracting the pillar. "Now, I'm gonna tell you _exactly_ how this is gonna work, and _you're_ gonna close your mouth and listen. Got it, blondie?"

I nodded, struggling to even get turned over onto my front so I could start climbing back to my feet. ' _Even if he's actually acknowledging me, it's still Gajeel...and he's still a_ fucking _asshole.'_

"Good," Gajeel declared. "Now, Jose and Totomaru told me all about how you usually trained, so I'm gonna have you do that. You're gonna use your magic on your muscles while trying to move around under all that weight. You don't stop 'till I tell you too or you drop and can't get back up again."

I finally got on my front, then got my hands beneath me and _pushed_ with all my might so I could get my feet beneath me.

He ripped another chunk from the girder with his teeth and continued. "After, make your muscles heal faster or whatever the hell it is you do with your lightshow and you'll get up and start again."

Finally, I staggered to my feet and swallowed. "And how long am I doing this for?"

Gajeel grinned. Maybe it was just because he'd used his magic recently, or because he was eating iron, but his teeth seemed sharper than they should be. "'Till I say _stop_ , blondie."

I swallowed a scathing insult about Gajeel's mother, which had been under construction for several minutes, since it would just get the shit beaten out of me and I was in for a rough enough time already. Instead, I just sighed, put my head down and started running. My magic coiled around my body, not actually making me move faster but just speeding up my muscles' breakdown in the same way I had memorised during my early months.

I lasted ten minutes before the last of my consciousness vanished beneath the tide of burning **pain** that was all my senses could perceive...but I didn't stop running.

Even when what remained of my sight became little more than static and tear-blur, when my hearing was overwhelmed by my heartbeat and I could barely feel myself move over the aching, I kept moving forward. I would keep making the same motions, keep running and running and running, until my body gave out or my magic did.

Whichever came first.

I had sworn that _nothing_ like the Zancrow mission would _ever_ happen again.

And if the only price to pay for that was this pain...then I could take it, I _would_ take it, with no regrets.

I had to.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

I regret _everything._

...Except Juvia. Juvia was the best.

Four of my five senses have completely shut down and the only one still functioning is my sense of touch, which is trying to tell me that I'm currently submerged in some unholy acid/napalm mixture. Muscles I didn't even know I had were spontaneously combusting and stabbing their neighbours with needles, my blood is scorching the veins it runs through and my heart is doing its damnedest to break my ribs.

I think I can feel my calluses aching, which is probably impossible but wouldn't seem so weird at the moment.

A vague black shape filtered into my brain, and I realised Gajeel was probably standing over me. "Took ya long enough to drop," his tinny voice declared, "I figured you'd drop after thirty minutes."

Given the opportunity to focus on something other than the burning agony I was experiencing, my brain leapt to prioritise my other senses over touch, and the form of the Dragon Slayer abruptly resolved itself as I blinked. Honestly, I probably could have done without seeing the shit-eating grin he was wearing as he chewed on another chunk of metal.

"Yeah...well, I'm...tougher...than I...look," I wheezed between breaths, hoping that my heart wasn't going to keep beating the air out of my lungs whenever I managed to get some in there.

He snorted. "Yeah, I can see that." Something fell to the ground beside me with a thud, and when I glanced wearily over I found myself looking at a clockwork stopwatch. "You lasted a whole ninety minutes before you collapsed, so congratulations on proving me wrong. Now heal yourself up and go home."

I looked back to Gajeel. "I thought you said...I'd keep repeating this…'till you said stop?"

"That was when I thought you'd drop quick." Gajeel shook his head. "You ain't a Dragon Slayer, so if you keep working yourself like this then you'll finish the job that Zancrow fucker started, healing or no healing." A strong hand reached down, clasped my forehead and dragged me upright from my lying position. "I got a system, and I stick to it."

From all the effort Gajeel displayed pulling me up, it seemed like he didn't even register how much I weighed with the armor on – which, if I had done my math right, was something like fourteen-hundred pounds.

Dragon Slayers are _fucking scary._ Maybe not so much as they used to be after my encounter with Zancrow, since I doubt anything's ever gonna terrify me that much again, but they're still enough to make me wary.

Well. Gajeel and Jose might still scare me, honestly. But one of them's the most vindictive bastard I know and the other has a level of appreciation for human life that borders somewhere between 'jack' and 'shit', so I'm probably vindicated there.

There was another flash of green light, and suddenly I found myself lacking the extra weight I had been carrying. The relief from the burden was almost as painful as carrying it, and I held in a scream as I staggered and damn near fell over again.

"How do you even _do_ that?" I gasped, hands on my knees as I tried not to collapse onto the ground. "That much iron _wouldn't_ be eight times my weight – and then you just make it vanish into thin air?"

Blue light flared around me as I reached past the pain for my magic, forcing myself to breathe evenly and hold still as I began the careful process of magically accelerated self-repair.

Gajeel scratched his head, chewing idly as he seemed to pick his words. "Well, the iron I create is just my magic in a different shape. So long as I keep focussing on it after I make it, I can make it do whatever I want – like change the weight, thickness, toughness and shit like that."

I eyed my trainer. "That sounds like an oversimplification."

"That's cuz it is."

…

"Well, could you _un_ -simplify it?"

"No."

"Why not?"

Gajeel grinned. "'Cause I don't want to, blondie."

Giving the Dragon Slayer the best stink eye that I could manage these days, I stopped paying even the slight attention I was to the outside world, instead dedicating my focus to healing my muscles. It wasn't as hard as healing full injuries, requiring less attention and carrying fewer risks, but if I got cocky I could still fuck up and do something unfortunate to myself.

' _...I wonder if I can get so good at healing myself that I could mimic a healing factor…'_ I considered the possibility for a moment, then shook my head internally. ' _Doubt it, my healing's closer to Old Man Logan's than anythi—'_

"Hey, blondie, I got a question for ya."

"What's that?" I asked, cutting off the flow of magic and running through a quick set of stretches and flexes to test how my muscles were doing. All seemed well, I was happy to find.

"While you were running I was thinkin' about how your magic works," Gajeel told me. "You can speed shit up and slow it down, right?" I nodded. "Well, what if you sped up how fast you get magic back?"

…

My thoughts came to a screeching halt.

The world stopped rotating.

My jaw dropped and my eye lost focus as I became completely lost for words.

Gajeel Redfox—Gajeel _fucking_ Redfox—had just pointed out something so incredibly simple that I should have thought of it the second I realised what my magic was.

Christ on a bike I was _fucking blind._

My expression must have said it all, because Gajeel threw back his head and _laughed his ass off_ as I rebooted. "You seriously never thought of that?!" he demanded, clutching his stomach as he howled, "And you say _I_ don't have finesse!"

The laughter and the irritation it spawned in me were enough to break me out of my thoughts. "Not what that word means, buddy."

"Ah shuddup, I know what it means," Gajeel replied as he wiped a (possibly imaginary) tear from his eye.

"Do you?" I asked.

"Yeah," the Dragon Slayer declared, grinning widely at me again, "it means if you don't shut your mouth I'm gonna punch ya in the stomach again."

I made an executive decision and changed the subject. "The idea's worth a try," I told him, putting my feet shoulder-width apart and breathing deeply, "so I'll give it a shot."

The first problem was figuring out just what I need to speed up. I knew that a magical container drew in Ethernano from the surrounding atmosphere all the time, which was how a mage recovered their magic. Unfortunately, that was _all_ I knew, and it wasn't really helpful. Did the container _actively_ absorb Ethernano, like a vacuum? Or did it just store any Ethernano the body encountered?

I decided to assume it was the first option as I closed my eyes and pulled on my magic. Normally, I wouldn't need to focus so intently on it – but when I was trying something completely new like this, it didn't pay to half-ass things.

I began to pull the magic energy from my core, the power suffusing my body until it rose from my skin. That was a familiar action, a feeling that was almost instinctual by now. _Stopping_ it thought, then _reversing_ the pull, was by contrast really fucking weird to feel. Even weirder was holding the energy around my container rather than letting it flow back in, then trying to do the same thing I did to my body for speed but inside myself.

' _Well, here goes nothing!'_

My intent flowed into my magic, and the familiar sensation I could only call Speed began to build inside me. At first, nothing really came of it. I could feel a tiny drain on my reserves as I used my magic, but nothing else. I wasn't even sure exactly _what_ I was speeding up – just that I _was_ doing _something._

Then it happened.

It was small, and if it hadn't been such a foreign sensation I might not have noticed, but the flow of magic into my container got faster. A burst of childlike excitement rose up in my mind, momentary dreams of infinite magic flashing past, but harsh reality quickly returned to crush them.

I was expending more magic in accelerating the rate of absorption than I was gaining from that acceleration. I was effectively using magic for nothing in return.

It was almost heartbreaking. ' _Maybe one more thing…'_

With a push, the 'speed' of my magic skyrocketed, the color in my mind's eye switching from blue to purple in a second. The absorption rate skyrocketed right alongside it...but I could still feel that my container was draining. More slowly than it would normally with this level of effort, yes, but it was still draining.

I sighed as I cut the flow, meeting Gajeel's gaze as I opened my eye. "Didn't work?" He asked.

I shook my head. "Sadly no."

He snorted. "Well, that sucks. At least it looked kinda cool."

"I'm sorry, it looked _cool?"_ I asked, and Gajeel nodded.

"Yeah, your core lit up so much I saw it through your shirt and you started glowing blue. I could actually see magic being pulled into you outta the air. You were like a...a…"

"Black hole?" I offered.

"I was gonna say vacuum cleaner." Gajeel shrugged. "But that works."

"...Thanks?" I half-asked, not sure if I was being complimented or insulted.

The Dragon Slayer grinned. "A vacuum cleaner with attitude."

' _Definitely insulted.'_

"Anyway, I should probably tell you this before you head off," he said, walking back over to his pile of girders. When had he finished his last one…? "Just show up here every day at the same time and we'll work on this shit for a while. Until you get your new eye, at the least."

"And after that?" I asked. "I'll get it in, like, two days or so. I don't think two days of strength training is gonna help me that much."

The savage grin he was sporting when he turned around again made me instantly nervous. "Oh, I ain't even gonna _start_ your proper training for...probably a month. We're gonna be doing pure strength training 'till then – and when I'm done with you? You're gonna be able to lift a _fucking_ Dragon."

He almost looked excited. Unfortunately, the child-like emotion was ruthlessly murdered by the cruel glint in his eyes. "And I hope you got used to the burn today, because from now on I'm gonna make the armor heavier. Every. _Single._ _ **Day**_ _."_

I paled as his malicious laughter rang out through the clearing and bounced around in my head, even as I was turning away to walk back to Oak Town. "Sleep well tonight, blondie. You're gonna need it."

' _He says that,'_ I thought to myself as I began jogging home, ' _but compared to this afternoon, trying to sleep in the first place is…'_

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

"David-sama, _put it in already!"_

' _...the_ really _hard part.'_

"I-I'm sorry, Juvia," I gulped, looking down at the waiting Water Mage, "I've just never done this before."

"Juvia wouldn't expect you to have," she huffed, "now _stick it in!"_

"But I'm nervous!" I argued, backing up a bit. "What if it hurts?"

Juvia was wearing a new expression. For the first time since I'd known her, she looked one-hundred percent done with my shit, and I decided that was probably a good sign for her emotional health. I was honestly more concerned with my _own_ health at the moment, though. "David-sama, Juvia has been trying to put your new eye in for _twenty minutes._ Please be reasonable."

The only _reasonable_ response as I saw it was to jump on top of the refrigerator and out of my girlfriend's reach. Which I did, immediately discovering that cats can only really get away with that because of how light they are.

Still, the device's frantic swaying as I tried to get it balanced again was a great help in avoiding Juvia's hand, so there was that.

...In all fairness, it wasn't like she was trying to ram it into my head or anything. She was just trying to talk me into doing it myself.

...I was probably being unreasonable. Then again, I could probably be excused for being apprehensive about shoving a new eye into my skull.

Juvia started tapping her foot. " _David Robinson,_ you get down here _right_ now! The sooner you get it over with the sooner you can get used to it!"

' _Okay, she's using my last name, time to stop being a bitch.'_ I thought, hopping down from the fridge, steadying it behind me and then taking my new eye from Juvia. "...Jose didn't do anything to it, did he?"

"For the Gods' sake David, just put the damn eye in!" Juvia snapped at me, apparently entirely finished with my (admittedly childish) behaviour. Apparently I'd rubbed off her on a bit – at least, if she was dropping her usual formal speech.

' _Of course, I'd rather be_ rubbing _her than—'_

I clamped down on my hormones for the umpteenth time in recent days, cursing their resurgence even as I failed to completely stamp them out. They had been making themselves known at any possible opportunity lately, and like some other people ( _cough_ Totomaru _cough_ ) they were trying to heckle me into getting it on already.

Ignoring them was becoming as exhausting as it was frustrating.

Anyway.

My artificial eye had the same electric-blue for its iris as my real eye. It might have been a bit brighter, but it wasn't enough to be immediately obvious. If someone stared for long enough they'd probably see the difference though.

I pulled off my eyepatch, and for the first time in weeks I lifted my right eyelid in the open air. The feeling of cool air circulating _inside_ my eye socket was something that I couldn't, _wouldn't_ put into words. It was just _wrong._

Taking a deep breath, I stretched my eye socket as wide as it would go and then shoved the eye in with a soft _pop_ that sent a shiver down my spine.

Artificial Eyes use a form of magic imaginatively named 'Sight'. It did exactly what it said on the tin, forming a connection to my body via my magic and channelling vision along that same connection for my perception. I had no idea if the same technique could work for more than one magical eye at once, and I had no intention of finding out either.

Remembering the instructions Jose had given me, I ran magic up to my right eye as if I was accelerating my perceptions, and felt a small but distinct _tug_ on my magical container as I did so. Something indefinable _clicked_ , a connection settling into place, I opened my right eye—

—And I _saw._

...There wasn't a good way to describe the relief I felt at having my full field of view back. It almost felt like I was whole again, and it lifted not just the weight I had felt but even a burden I hadn't known I was carrying.

I looking around, spinning on my heel and turning my head, feeling the eye move in my socket just like my natural one. Honestly, I couldn't really tell the difference. It felt like that should be weird, or frightening, or disturbing...but all I could feel about it was happy.

I turned to face Juvia once more, seeing the expectant expression on her face through two eyes once again. "How is it, David-sama?" she asked, sounding hopeful.

"Shit, it's _great!"_ I replied, a massive—and probably dumb-looking—grin splitting my face. "I can see like normal now! Like I never lost it at all."

Juvia's smile easily equalled mine as she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around me for a hug. "That's a relief...Juvia thought—"

"You look twice as sexy now."

…

You know when your tongue gets away from your thoughts, and you blurt something out without really thinking about it? I do that, a lot. Usually when I'm angry – but I was so happy that I was roughly as in control of myself as I would be in a towering rage, and I'd meant to say the same thing only I meant to say _good_ , I MEANT TO SAY GOOD.

And of course, my slip-up had the worst possible results in the best possible way.

Instead of blushing and hugging me tighter, as part of me _prayed_ she would, I instead felt one of her arms rise from my mid-back to the back of my head as she stepped back a bit, an expression I could only call 'sultry' overtaking her face as her other hand pressed a single finger to my collarbone and started to trace slowly down my chest.

Standing on the tips of her toes, Juvia leaned up to put her lips right beside my ear, and I could feel her breath as she spoke. "Ah, David-sama~" she sighed, "Juvia was just _waiting_ for you to break like this."

Before I could ask what the hell she meant by _break_ I felt the finger on my chest rise to my lips, silencing me before I could even speak. " _Shhhh,"_ she chided me, "just let Juvia explain."

I might have protested if more of my brain cells were responding. As things were, the vast majority were screaming and dying as her finger began to trace its way from my lips down to my chest at a pace that was frankly _agonizing._

"Ever since we had 'the talk', as David-sama put it," Juvia began, "Juvia has been thinking about what David-sama said. About emotional maturity. David-sama said that it was far too early for us to be considering... _consummation."_

...I probably should have stopped her hand as it passed the mid-point of my chest. Unfortunately, my body was just as paralysed as my mind.

"But Juvia _knows_ that David-sama doesn't want to wait any longer, and Juvia... _I_ know that _I_ can barely contain myself." Juvia leaned back, pressing her forehead to mine and meeting my eyes, both original and new. "I can see it in your eyes, David-sama...that raging _fire_ of passion~"

Her finger paused, _just_ above my waistband, then began to inch _down—_

And suddenly, it was gone.

The desire remained, but the heat and press of Juvia against me vanished. I'd closed my eyes at some point, I realised, and when I opened them I found Juvia had moved away and was giggling at me. "But Juvia respects David-sama's wish to wait, and won't force him to do anything he isn't ready for."

She turned away, clasping her hands behind her back and drawing my attention there before she began to walk towards my living room with a _very definite_ sway to her hips that I couldn't have looked away from if I cared to try.

"All Juvia needs to do," she purred, "is get him to _break."_

I spent several seconds just standing in place and looking at Juvia as her eyes twinkled mischievously at me from my couch. Then, some semblance of thought returned to me, and I came to an immediate conclusion.

I needed a shower.

An icy, _icy_ shower.

...And possibly a chastity belt, because my girlfriend had been replaced by a succubus.

As if training with Gajeel wasn't hard enough on my health already. Having to deal with that _and_ this?

I was going to fucking die. And the worst part was I'd probably be happy about it.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

 _Juvia's POV_

The second David-sama left the room, Juvia's carefully-rehearsed perch on the couch turned into a boneless slump, the crimson red blush that she had been suppressing with her Water Body magic rising to engulf her features as she blew out a relieved breath. "Juvia didn't think she would be able to pull that off…"

She had barely been able to find the right moment to start her plans, much less execute them without breaking character.

Reaching into her dress, Juvia retrieved her latest reading material. ' _Seducing Your Man: A Ten-Step Guide to Success'_.

Flipping through the pages, she quickly found the point where she'd left off and started reading again. ' _Step Four, Breaking His Defences…'_

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

 _David's POV_

Gajeel was torturing me.

There was no other fitting way to describe his 'training'. Every single day, I would get up, eat breakfast, then head out of town and get run into the goddamn ground by the sadistic Dragon Slayer. And he _wasn't kidding_ when he said that it would get harder every day.

If anything? He was _fucking understating it._

Adding more weight, changing the places or lengths I'd run, even changing up the exercises or making the existing ones more complicated. One way or another, every day was _always_ more difficult than the day which came before it.

After a week of utter agony, I was just about starting to adjust to the difficulty curve when he threw me for a loop that made everything just _so much worse._

Instead of making me run around wearing a massive amount of weight until I collapsed, he lessened the weight but extended the time of the run to 'until my magic runs out'. Which was a _long fucking time._

Then, he would make me wait until I had recovered my supply, and have me repeat the process. And again, and _again, and again._

It was torture, plain and simple – but beyond just the threat of Jose, I didn't quit because even after just a week I was already getting tangible benefits. I could _feel_ myself growing stronger, could feel how the strain to handle the exercises lessened with every passing day and week. Whenever Gajeel decided to sucker punch me with one of his iron pillars (which was really goddamn often) I was able to take the blow a little better.

Oh, it never stopped hurting like a motherfucker, but I could stay standing and breathing after the hit now.

So, hey. Progress.

There was also progress on the magical front. I was emptying my magical container completely, sometimes multiple times, every time I trained, and as a result my Magic capacity was growing in leaps and bounds. The downside?

The more my container grew, the longer it took to empty. And the longer it took to empty, the more torture-exercise I could do.

Still – despite everything, I'd take it. I'd take it all; the burning pains, the crippling soreness, all the iron pillars to the gut…

...Alright, maybe not the last one, I was getting really fucking sick of that.

But I'd take the rest of it, because there was no path to strength without hard work, and I'd never forget that again.

With all the time I was spending training I hadn't had much time to focus on fine-tuning my magic, unfortunately. I _would_ have worked on it at home, but I was always so tired and low on magic when I _did_ get back that the idea went out the window.

Still, when I _did_ get around to it, I had some _ideas…_

If only because I spend most of my training time fantasizing about the many and varied ways I can possibly hurt Gajeel. And I have a _very_ good imagination.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Juvia was torturing me.

This was fast becoming a problem with the people in my life, much to my dismay.

Her specific brand of torture wasn't the physical variant employed by Gajeel, but was rather the mental kind...and honestly, it was hard to tell which was worse.

Gajeel was pushing me to the absolute limit every day, challenging me magically and physically to overcome the me from the day before and training me to stand at the top.

Juvia...Juvia was challenging me mentally. And morally.

I wasn't even sure it was _possible_ to be challenged morally, but that wasn't stopping her.

To clarify the situation, she had taken a new tack with her seduction efforts and raised the intensity level. And if my creativity was noteworthy, Juvia was the next coming of da Vinci.

After her little 'speech' about getting me to break, she almost seemed to return to normal. ' _Almost'_ being the operative word.

The change wasn't sudden. She didn't immediately pin me to the wall at the next opportunity. No, her new tactic was the culmination of a lot of things.

Tighter hugs that lasted longer. Stretches that beckoned the eye to places from whence it would likely never return. A new sway in her walk. All relatively little things that built on one another.

But the most obvious thing was the wardrobe.

Normally, Juvia favoured her usual conservative (as much as _anything_ could be conservative on Juvia, anyway) dresses around the house. Now, though…

I'm a simple man. I like simple things, and among those simple things are clothes. Since I tend to favour only a few different styles, I tend to just buy several copies of the same outfit so I always have one to wear while I'm doing laundry. Unfortunately, Juvia had apparently taken a liking to them too, since she was now raiding my wardrobe.

And what was 'simple' on me was _really damn complicated_ on Juvia, and _really fucking hard_ on my restraint.

I've bought a lot of fairly tight, fairly thin t-shirts and shorts for exercising in since arriving in Earthland; several more since my latest round of training started. To me, they were fairly form-fitting, which served me fine since it kept them out of my way and stopped them flapping around if I was using Moonwalk or Shave.

On Juvia, with her _considerably_ greater depth of chest? The damn things might as well have been painted on.

And I had a sneaking suspicion that she'd stopped wearing bras around the house. Not that I'd paid enough attention to _tell_ , since I tended to navigate my house by staring at the ceiling these days, but the suspicion was still there.

I just had to hope she didn't throw any more nitro on the fire, because if this got any worse something was going to give.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

 _Juvia's POV_

David-sama was torturing Juvia – and she couldn't decide if she should damn him for it or love him even more.

When juxtaposed with her own efforts to break his will, their personal time had developed into a war of attrition, and Juvia was becoming fairly sure she'd lose.

...Actually, thinking about it, it was less a battle of attrition and more a battle of the mind. A battle of hormones, to be precise. David-sama fought to suppress his own (Juvia had caught him muttering to himself a few times and bashing his head against a wall. Apparently David-sama's hormones had formed a guerrilla resistance movement and firmly entrenched themselves in the jungles of his imagination.), and Juvia fought to let them free.

Unfortunately, it seemed more likely that Juvia's hormones would break first. And she was fairly sure that David-sama wasn't even trying to beat her.

It was a careful balancing act, the way she was acting now. Preserving the act itself, suppressing her embarrassment and resisting David-sama's influence; two of the three at once would be difficult enough, but between them the trio had her almost ready to crack.

Every day when David-sama returned from training, Juvia had to restrain herself. He was always drenched in sweat, encouraging his already skin-tight exercise clothes to cling, and somehow his already... _impressive_ physique was only growing more defined over time.

Juvia really wasn't sure how much longer she could take it. There were times that she had to actively avoid David-sama, and she was afraid she would accidentally drop her act.

...Though, between her efforts to advance their relationship to the next level, she found herself worrying for him. Despite them working out some of the remaining issues from the incident with Zancrow, there was still a lot to get over.

He was...well, he wasn't _avoiding_ Juvia, nor ignoring her. It was just that he seemed to shift the majority of his focus into training with Gajeel – which is to say that he had thrown himself into it with the intensity of a thousand suns.

...Perhaps she should turn away from her romance novels for a while. They were beginning to affect her vocabulary…

Juvia had no problem with David-sama wishing to become stronger and investing the effort to do so – but he was making so _much_ of an effort that it was beginning to interfere with the rest of his life. ' _With_ our _life.'_

Juvia had actually dropped her attempts at seduction recently, when she realised that she was quite possibly exacerbating a problem with his mental health. But he would still collapse from exhaustion when he came home, and the nightmares would come…

Juvia didn't particularly _want_ to think about what those nightmares entailed – but she could guess.

She needed to have a talk with David-sama…

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

 _David's POV_

It's hard to believe a month has passed already.

I guess time flies when you spend most of your days working yourself into the ground, physically and mentally. But it's had some _serious_ benefits.

My physical fitness is the most obvious. I haven't really tried to put numbers on it or put myself to the absolute test, but now I could move around with nearly _ten times_ my own body weight and not feel that much resistance. Gajeel wasn't kidding when he said he would make me as strong as a Dragon; I was confident that I had outgrown everyone in Phantom Lord sans Gajeel himself in physicality. Though, really, Aria was the only other contender even _before_ my training…

Less obvious but still just as important was my magical capacity, which had just about _doubled._ Though once again I came up short when compared to the rest of Phantom Lord, and I _do_ mean 'the rest'. Every one of the elites surpassed me in total magical capacity, even Sol and Totomaru. My own girlfriend was a _well_ of magic, which was probably part of some chicken-egg cycle with her ability to affect the weather based on her mood.

Radiating magic for her entire life had apparently done wonders for her capacity.

Speaking of my girlfriend, I thought it was about time to have another _talk_ with her.

It wasn't that I didn't _immensely enjoy_ her valiant crusade of seduction – it was just that I was becoming honestly concerned. She was starting to... _change_ from the Juvia I knew and loved. She seemed to be avoiding me when I got home, out of nervousness or something else I didn't know. Was it something I did? Was it some effect of her seduction effort? Was it something else completely?

It had been half a week since she used any of the little tricks that had been driving me so mad, and I wasn't sure _why._

I had absolutely no idea what was going on with my girlfriend, and that worried me. I cared about her, more than I felt comfortable with sometimes, and lately my concern for her well-being was rising fast.

Whatever it was, it was up to me to find out. It was probably my fault, after all.

I sincerely doubt it's hers.

"Hey blondie, you payin' attention there?"

Gajeel's voice snapped me from my thoughts, and I realised I must have drifted off while I was waiting for him to finish eating. "Yeah, I'm good, Gajeel."

He snorted. "No you ain't. Something's botherin' you, and it's got you off your game."

...As much as I fondly wished for relationship advice from _Gajeel Redfox,_ I think it would be better for my health if he _didn't_ know the nitty-gritty of my relationship. "You're right," I agreed, "but it's none of your fucking business."

A quick flare of blue got me away from the pillar of iron that reduced where I had been standing to dust and shredded grass.

"You've gotten a lot more mouthy, haven't ya?" Gajeel mused, retracting the pillar.

"Spending most of my time with _you_ has done wonders for my snark," I replied. "Now, what the hell did you drag me out here for? I thought we were still doing weight training."

"Nah," Gajeel disagreed, "you've gotten to the point where you're good enough with strength. Now, we're gonna work on fighting and magic." A savage grin crossed his face. "Compared to this last month, the one to come...is gonna be ten times worse."

"And it's gonna be worse _because…?"_ I asked, already knowing where he was going with this.

"We're gonna fight," he said simply, standing and cracking his knuckles. "A _lot._ So get up, get your shit together and get ready for a beating, blondie."

I shook my head, grinning as well. "I think you'll find me a _little_ harder to beat on than you think."

He snorted, a few _gihihihi_ sounds escaping his throat and pissing me off. "Just come at me when you're ready, _blondie,"_ he said, seeming almost amused. "If you last more than a minute, I'll go easy on ya for the rest of the day."

"Fine," I agreed, "but don't go crying to Jose when I leave you speechless." Crackling blue, sparking from my skin and shining from my eyes, burst into life.

Gajeel let out a grating laugh. "Oh, I _doubt_ that—"

Ten kicks in an instant and I was flying through the air, a missile aimed at Gajeel's face that flipped over to strike him feet-first in mid-flight. " **Shave!"**

Rather than the ground, my second round of ten instantaneous kicks all sank into Gajeel's face. The resulting impact sent him flying, skipping and sprawling across the ground as I turned the recoil into a simple backflip and landed roughly where I'd started.

I couldn't hold my laughter at the partly dumbfounded, partly pissed expression on Gajeel's face when he picked himself up off the ground. "Don't worry Gajeel," I said, trying to keep my expression straight, "I'll go easy on you for the rest of the day." My expression broke. The shit-eating grin went wide.

Gajeel seemed to grit his teeth, barely managing to part them enough to speak. "Where the _fuck_ did that come from?!"

"Do you want the simple explanation or the complicated explanation?" I asked.

"You know _damn well_ which one!"

"Well basically," I began, "I smashed my boot into your face ten times in a single instant, making it ten times as hard." I cracked my knuckles. "Or something like that...Magic and physics don't really play well."

"I don't give a shit how well they play," Gajeel declared, "I want to know where the hell that came from! How'd you even _think_ of that?!"

"I've had a _lot_ of time to think when I was recovering from those iron pillars to the gut," I said simply. A grin that would have been at home on Gajeel himself spread across my face. "And we've just gotten started."

"I'm gonna whip that _cocky-ass grin_ off your _stupid fucking face,"_ Gajeel growled, his voice lowering an octave and gaining a sibilant hiss. I suppressed the urge to gulp as dull green Magic began to radiate from him, a magic circle forming as his arm transformed into a large iron spearhead. " **Iron Dragon Lance: Demon Logs!"**

Small iron spears erupted from the larger spearhead, tearing through the air towards me. My magic, which had dulled to a faint glow, sparked back into full life and my perceptions went flat-out, leaving the spears in slow motion. At that speed, it was child's play to walk my shining blue self through the world of slowed time and knock the spears aside.

What must have been only seconds for Gajeel was nearly minutes for me as I kept knocking aside the spears until I got tired of it. A simple whisper of " **Shave,"** carried me through the maelstrom of scattering weapons to just behind Gajeel, and I let my perceptions and voice slow. "You know, maybe you could talk about your problems instead of just lashing—"

I ducked the iron sword that swung for my head in real time, taking the wide swing as my opportunity to retaliate. " **Tenfold Impact!"**

I noticed something was wrong just after I finished the instantaneous ten punches. Namely, Gajeel only skidded backward a few feet while remaining standing, and there was a _throbbing_ pain in my hand.

Looking more closely at Gajeel, I picked out the green glow around him – and a moment later I watched as his magic and body _flexed,_ leaving him covered in dark iron scales. "I hope you broke your fucking fingers," Gajeel snarled, his eyes almost glowing red, "but in case you didn't, here, _let my help you out."_

He took a massive breath, then made a tunnel of his hands in front of his mouth. " **Iron Dragon's Roar!"**

I accelerated to full and shot to the side as everything behind where I was standing _died._ Earth, grass and trees were _annihilated_ in a storm of razor-sharp iron shards that exploded forward on the powerful wind from Gajeel's mouth.

It made a great cover for a blitzing run to the Dragon Slayer so I could slam my foot into the back of his skull.

I did precisely jack shit. He didn't even move an inch.

I ducked under an attempted grab then kicked myself back, twisting and slamming my feet into the air so I could rocket back towards him.

Gajeel cocked his fist – and _punched the air._

A rippling shockwave spread outward from his arm, the sheer force of his blow rocking the nearby atmosphere. It certainly rocked me, catching me off-guard and sending me sprawling to the ground.

I took a knee in an instant and, narrowing my eyes at Gajeel, willed my speed to increase. The colour of my magic took a dive from blue to purple as I spun the mental speedometer faster, and the ground beneath me exploded with a mighty _bang_ as I launched myself forward.

Things began to blur after that.

It was like a supersonic dance. I was right up in Gajeel's face, raining down a hailstorm of attacks. Punches, kicks, Tenfold Impacts with both my feet and hands. He was just as ferocious, fighting back with twin Iron Dragon Swords that never let me stay in one place long, forcing me to find his blind spots to avoid getting bisected by the magical iron chainsaws that he called swords.

Soon, it was pretty clear we'd reached an impasse. Gajeel couldn't hit me, and that wasn't gonna change any time soon. Meanwhile, I could hit _him,_ but I couldn't _hurt_ him. My attacks only managed to knock him around slightly at best; hitting him multiple times in an instant seemed to do _some_ damage, but my hands were already beaten and bruised with little to nothing to show for it.

I slammed a foot into his chest, and despite the way the grass rippled with the blow he barely moved an _inch._ An iron sword promptly passed above me as I ducked down, sliding between Gajeel's legs, whipping around and using his lower back as a springboard to soar through the air.

I landed with a _thud,_ and blinked in some surprise when Gajeel _didn't_ charge in like a wild animal as he usually did. Instead, I watched him begin to dismiss his swords, and dialled down my perceptions so I could hear what he was in the process of saying. "We ain't getting fucking nowhere."

I rolled my eyes. "And you just _murdered_ that sentence."

Gajeel spat to the side, flipping me off and glaring at me. "Shut it." He growled, folding his arms. "I can't hit you and you can't hurt me. This is pointless."

"Yeah," I agreed, "all we've done is try and _completely fail_ to kill each other."

"I'm thinkin' we call it a day, just for now," he grunted. "I'll figure out some other way to train you up."

That was...unexpected. "Really?" I asked. "I thought for sure that you'd want to keep going...this isn't like you at all, Gajeel."

The Iron Dragon Slayer cracked his neck – simultaneously, and at almost the same time as I finished speaking, the ground beneath me began to shake. The chains of dark iron that then erupted upset my footing and left me without a quick get-away as they wrapped around my legs with all the crushing grip of an angry python, anchoring me to the earth.

My face must have been a picture, since Gajeel started maniacally laughing. "Yeah, I lied," he agreed. "I just figured I could distract you long enough to send some chains through the ground."

I found myself struggling to find an appropriate response to being _outsmarted by Gajeel,_ but I ended up not having to – the way his cheeks and chest were bulging seemed a lot more important by comparison. " **Iron Dragon's—"**

' _Clever girl.'_

"— **ROAR!"**

Magic flooded my brain and eyes, stretching a moment into forever as I watched the tornado of iron shards spiral towards me with all the haste of an arthritic turtle. There was almost a certain grace to it...like watching a bull do ballroom dance.

Which was a fancy way of distracting myself from the fact that I was so totally _fucked._

I couldn't move my legs to use Shave, Moonwalk or Tempest Kick – they were chained up way too tight. I had a go with my hands, magic flaring blue as I boosted their speed to match that of my mind. No dice; I couldn't even scratch the damn things, and they refused to come loose despite my new ridiculous strength and the extra momentum of super-speed.

It took a subjective moment, but I quickly came to the conclusion that I hated to draw.

I couldn't get out of this by speeding up.

Hell, I didn't think I could get out of this _at all._ That tornado of spinning blades was going to tear right through me and turn me into kibble and bits, and there was absolutely fuck-all I could do about it.

...Unless I didn't speed things _up._

I'd considered it before – approaching my Magic from the other direction. Well in the past and even more recently, as a matter of fact. I'd even done it once or twice, speaking in slow-motion as a party trick...but I'd never taken it _further_ than that. I'd left half my Magic's potential just lying there untouched for the longest time.

Of course, that raised the question of what the hell slowing things down could do to get me out of the chains. Nothing really sprang to mind…

The problem with having a lot of time to think is that you tend to let yourself get lost in it. You don't have that edge of urgency that kicks your brain in the ass and makes it go to work. So, in the end, I spent so much time thinking that the iron tornado had closed to only a couple of meters' distance when I finally had something to try. ' _God I hope this works.'_

When I dropped the magic suffusing my brain, the tornado immediately seemed to leap forwards, accelerating in my eyes to its normal speed and leaving barely any time at all before it hit. But I hadn't spent so much time running around at superspeed without picking up a killer set of reflexes, perception enhancement or not.

In the split-second which was all I had, I closed my eyes, poured what felt like all my magical container out onto the surface of my skin, and issued a single command.

 **Slow.**

The iron hit me like the unholy child of a freight train and a lamprey with a rocket booster shoved up its rear compartment. The scream of the wind, of the metal on itself, and of the metal on my skin just added to the comparison with the way they combined and beat on my poor eardrums. My clothes held up about as well as could be expected—which is to say, they didn't—but the proof of my idea was in what happened to my skin.

Namely? _Almost fuck all._

The sensation certainly wasn't _pleasant—_ it kind of felt like having sandpaper rubbed all over me, actually—but that came second to the fact that _I was unharmed._ Not a single drop of blood was drawn by the magical blender that had been thrown at me.

Gajeel's onslaught ended after only a couple of seconds, and I could open my eyes to regard the aftermath. The skin on the front of my body was reddenned, like one big Chinese burn, but it hadn't split. It all felt raw as hell, but at the same time I felt...strong. Sturdy. Like I had a lot more weight to throw around. So, this was the effect of slowing myself down…

Well, the _physical_ effect. The visual effect was altogether more obvious to anyone who looked at me; namely, the color-shift my magic had undergone. Rather than the normal blue or the high-speed purple, my normally crackling aura had taken on the color of molten gold and hugged my skin like a cloak of fire, few to no sparks or arcs like I was used to.

There was a _thump._ When I looked to check, I found that it was the sound of Gajeel's metal jaw hitting the ground. "What the _fuck_ is that, Robinson?"

"...I think I'll call it **Iron Body** ," I mused, grinning. "Seems appropriate, considering the circumstances."

For a moment, Gajeel looked almost affronted – then he began to laugh. "You should probably worry more about your moniker than tryin' to flatter me."

"Why?" I asked, a bit confused and wondering where that had come from.

"'Cause I'm thinking that _The Flash_ 'd sound better than 'Blue Blur'," he cackled, holding his middle.

"What the hell do—" I began to ask, only to cut myself off when something registered.

I'd been able to see my torso. My _whole_ torso, even.

The realisation that my tactic of reducing my body's surface 'speed', killing the worst of the metal's impact by 'slowing' its kinetic energy to bring it down low, had _not_ applied to my clothes hit me a moment later, along with a chilly breeze that stirred the scraps which were all that remained of my shirt and trousers.

...Well, I had to give him props for making a reference without even knowing it. "I see what you did—"

' _Waitasecond.'_

My hands shot to my head.

The usual feel of fabric was gone.

I took a panicked look around me, hands dancing over my scalp, and found several scraps of black fabric dancing in the breeze.

…

The expression that twisted my face must have been nothing short of _**divine fury**_ , because that _worthless fucking lizard_ had stopped laughing when he caught sight of it.

The silence that followed lasted a few precious seconds as Gajeel seemed to mull over what he was going to say. "...Sorry 'bout that."

I blinked.

I sighed.

An incongruous wisp of mist poured from my mouth as I slowly crouched down, then was pulled back in as I took in a massive breath.

"Oh, don't get so fucking worked up over a beanie," Gajeel scoffed. "You can get a new one."

"...I can't believe you have the _**balls**_ to say that," I managed to growl out. My magic once more came to life, and this time it buzzed like all the world's hornets rising into the air at once as blue rapidly ascended into violet. " _Juvia_ made that for me."

Gajeel seemed to realise what that meant. "...Any chance of—"

" **GEAR SECOND!"**

Neither of us said another word. The only sounds that field then bore were the screaming crack of iron scales shattering under a supersonic foot, and the roaring blast that signalled the sound barrier giving out for the first time that day.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

 _Third Person POV_

The citizens of Oak Town were somewhat used to what other people might term 'unusual'.

Considering they played host to one of Fiore's most famous (or infamous, depending on who you asked) Guilds, they'd had to become accustomed to certain... _antics_ , over the years. Foremost among them being the various things that happened around Phantom Lord's upper echelon.

No one was really fazed by Sol melting out of the street at random. There were special drainage pipes along the sides of the streets to deal with the waterfalls of tears that Aria usually shed as he walked around town. Everyone had perfected their glassy-eyed smile to hide behind and shut their brains off when Totomaru went around trying to make jokes. It used to be that everyone carried a concealed umbrella for when Juvia came into town as well, but they hadn't been used in a while.

Some of Oak Town's hardy folk had even become used to Gajeel practicing his music outside.

...Well, they'd become used to the _sight_ of him practicing. They were still working on the actual listening part, and did a discrete trade in earplugs in the meantime.

They were used to the nights when people at the Guild Hall would get a bit rowdy, and the accompanying oddities of an entire castle of drunken Mages wandering about. They were completely inured to the sound of explosions. Loud cursing, screams of pain or rage, the sounds of Magic and yelled attack names were to them the equivalent of early-morning bird song (incredibly annoying but utterly unavoidable and so they learned to live with it).

They weren't _quite_ used to having all of them at once, though.

For nearly an hour, Oak Town was subjected to what seemed like every possibility in the book – all of them coming from the fields outside the town border. There were several bright flashes of light, a couple of towering iron pillars or strange bursts of wind, and at one point a line of trees leading off into the middle distance all collapsed in such quick sequence that they might as well have fallen as one.

Then, finally, it stopped – and ten minutes later the townsfolk who were still in the street were treated to a sight they'd never forget.

Gajeel Redfox, who looked to have had a significant amount of his shit kicked in – and, dragged along by the ankle behind him, David Robinson, who looked to have had his shit kicked in, kicked out and quite possibly shaken all about.

Gajeel was bleeding from uncountable small cuts, dyeing a significant portion of his body red where it hadn't already been tattooed in black and blue bruising. One of his eyes was the colour of his hair and swollen completely shut to boot.

He still looked better than David, though. Humans weren't meant to turn that color, and he was sporting it all over.

 _All over._ There was no doubt of that, seeing as the two of them together _might_ be wearing enough fabric to clothe a particularly small eleven-year-old.

No one was going to be forgetting _that_ in a hurry.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Gajeel walked up to David and Juvia's house with the heavy, stomping steps of someone who isn't so much lifting their feet as kicking them out and hoping the world is still there when they come down. He pushed through the door, the wooden portal clattering to the ground as the hinges gave up immediately, and dragged David along with absolutely _none_ of the care in the world.

Juvia looked up from where she had been reading on the couch, and quickly took on an expression of abject horror.

"This," Gajeel declared, his voice a bit reedy and even more gravelly than usual (he hadn't quite dislodged the last of that boulder yet apparently), "is yours." That said, he tossed David's rag-doll form in the vague direction of the couch and turned away, staggering back through the door and taking a chunk out of the frame as he went.

As he went to go and find somewhere where nobody would have any shits to give about him sleeping until the end of days, what parts of him _weren't_ completely out of juice made a small mental note-to-self.

' _Don't fuck with the beanie.'_


	11. Cannonball

So I've got some really good news and some really bad news.

Good news is, I've finally gotten the hang of using Gear Second, to the extent that I can use it without getting bruised to all hell and back. That came with a whole slew of benefits, the first being a massive boost to physical strength and speed. It still does a number on my body when I use it, but at least I'm not at risk of dying anymore. Much to Gajeel's chagrin, he's managed to train me up to a point where I can fight him on equal footing.

And by 'equal footing', I mean we're not getting any more out of our training because we flat-out can't hurt each other anymore.

I'm sure if Gajeel managed to get a hit in, I would be down for the count. I mean seriously, he can create shockwaves of pure force just by punching the air; that level of brute strength is a _little_ beyond me at the moment, even if I'm keeping pace with Gajeel. But, of course, he has to land the hit for it to count – and at this point, I'm just too damn quick.

I've reached a whole new plateau of personal strength, earning my way to power through blood, sweat and tears. There's an intense kind of pride that came along with what I had accomplished, a pride that helps me keep working my way forward no matter how bruised and bloody I became in training.

Unfortunately, as far as all those injuries I built up were concerned, Juvia felt _anything_ but pride.

"Ow _shit!"_ I yelped, feeling a sharp sting as Juvia pulled a little too much while she worked on changing my bandages. "Watch the bruises would you?"

"Juvia _would_ watch the bruises, but considering that David-sama is _literally_ covered head to toe in them, she can't really avoid them," she replied, just the slightest hint of sass in her voice.

I let out a small whine as she removed the last of the wrapping around my torso, letting out a breath of relief.

"David-sama, what kind of training do you and Gajeel even _do?"_ she asked. "He doesn't just beat you up does he?"

I shrugged. "It was just strength training at the start, but we've been fighting one on one for the last couple days. The reason we're both banged up to all hell is because we pretty much can't hurt each other, and just go until we both drop. Downside is it hurts like shit, upside is it's done _wonders_ for my strength and—"

I paused. Apparently Juvia had gotten distracted with looking at my exposed torso, a single strand of drool leaking out of the corner of her mouth.

"Juvia."

"Uh huh…" she responded.

"Juvia did you hear me?"

"Mmmhm~"

" _Juvia?_ "

She ignored me, staring more intently. "It's like a steel washboard—"

"JUVIA!"

That snapped her out of it, her eyes snapping up to mine as she started blushing. "S-sorry, Juvia was just—"

"It's fine, I don't mind," I replied easily. "It's flattering honestly."

She smiled up at me. "Just heal yourself already David-sama, Juvia will make you something to eat."

"Thanks babe," I replied, focusing inward as I drew upon my magic.

Juvia grinned happily, getting up and heading to the kitchen with a small skip in her step.

A breath drawn slowly in, and let just as slowly out, carried my magic with it as I traced the path of my injuries with my magic. I have to admit, I'm getting much better at healing myself; at this point I can almost completely rid myself of lacerations and bruises with just a minute or so of focus. I haven't gotten around to trying to heal broken bones, or anything else beyond the mostly-superficial, yet...and honestly I don't really want to try. That kind of ability would probably require me studying medicine – or getting tips from Wendy, which I have to admit would probably be easier than going to med school.

Still, coming home covered with bruises and blood and the way it set Juvia off is only half of the bad news; the rest of it is down to me being more indecisive than a middle-school boy debating whether or not to ask out his crush.

An example that really isn't so far from the actual situation, in this case.

I could probably go on for a solid hour about the complexities of Juvia and I's interactions over the past month, and what exactly was happening between us. Hell, I could even write a whole fucking book on the awkward interactions and hesitation that I had been a part of in this relationship, though I _sincerely doubt_ that anyone would read it.

In the simplest way possible, I'm being indecisive about whether or not to take our relationship to the 'next level', and that indecisiveness is hurting both Juvia and I. It's not exactly a massive revelation, but it's something I've come to understand a little more each time I've come home from training, and today's the today I do something about it.

I'm a simple guy. I've said it before, and I'll probably say it again. I'm straightforward and I don't do bullshit most of the time. It's time to deal with this like I'd dealt with every _other_ problem that came up in the past few months.

Head-on.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

In a sudden burst of blue, I appeared right behind Juvia, wrapping my arms around her midsection. She jerked a bit in the unexpected embrace, letting out an adorable yelp and craning her neck to turn a small glare on me. "David-sama, wha—"

"Hey Juvia," I began, grinning, "I've got a _surprise_ for you."

She squirmed a bit in my grip, turning around to face me properly and raising an eyebrow with a coy smile. "Oh?~ And what's that?"

"An all-expenses paid week-long vacation to Hargeon, courtesy of yours truly," I replied, my grin becoming a full smile as her expression shifted into surprise. "I figured if I'm going to take you on a _real_ date, it's gonna be the best damn first date I can make it."

And it would get me away from Totomaru's bugging me about my relationship for a while too, but that was just a bonus.

Juvia looked shell shocked, her jaw hanging loose and her face coming alight with a blush. "R-really?"

I nodded, tightening my grip on her. "Yeah, I wanted to do something really special for you. You've done nothing but support and love me, and I'm going to make it all up to you," I declared, locking eyes with her and hoping they showed even a bit of what I always felt when I looked at her.

"David… You don't have to make anything up to Juvia," she replied, leaning gently into me with a soft smile. "You've already done more than anyone else."

I couldn't hold back a slightly mischievous grin of my own, as I took advantage of her position to gently push her forward and press a kiss to her neck. She let out an adorable moan, her breath hitching a little and deepening as I pulled back, my next words coming from just beside her ear.

"I know," I replied simply, hearing my own smile in my whispering voice. "And I plan to do _even more_ than that~"

I could feel the shiver that run up and down her, as well as the way her grip on me tightened in tangible anticipation. " _D-David-sama?_ Does that mean—"

I cut her off by scooping her into my arms with a momentary blue crackle, looking down at her with a grin. "It does." Planting a kiss on her forehead, I started in the direction of my bedroom. "And I think we've been waiting a _long_ time for this."

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

After training under Gajeel for nearly a month and a half, I'd come to expect a couple of things.

For one thing, his behaviour differs some from day to day, but it tends to follow certain patterns; the wild Gajeel has four main states of being, and he's generally running somewhere between two or more of them, usually without any rhyme or reason to which ones he's exemplifying.

Hungry, angry, sarcastic and smug.

When I showed up to training this morning, I was surprised to find that he was none of these. Instead, he was occupying a state of being that I hadn't even realised he _could_.

Gajeel Redfox, asshole Iron Dragon Slayer extraordinaire, was _nervous._

I quickly checked to make sure the sky wasn't falling in before I walked up to him.

The closer I got to him, the more obvious it became that he was trying, and failing, to hide something. ' _There is some bullshit afoot,'_ I thought, closing the distance to the Dragon Slayer who was leaning on a newly-stocked pile of iron girders. "Sup Gajeel?" I asked, cracking my neck. "You look like you're hiding something."

I've had enough bullshit lately.

He scoffed, a single bead of sweat dripping down the side of his face. " _Pffft_. Hiding somethin'? Who do I look like Robinson? I ain't got nothin' to hide."

"You can't lie for shit Gajeel," I drawled, crossing my arms. "What're you hiding?"

"I ain't hiding anything, you're makin' shit up!" he growled back.

"You have literally the _worst_ poker face of anyone we spend time around," I deadpanned. "Even _Aria_ can catch you when you're lying, and he wears a fucking _blindfold._ "

Gajeel's teeth grit together, a faint green aura rising around him much like his blood pressure was probably doing at the moment. "Listen Robinson! For the last goddamn time, I ain't hiding—"

"Gajeel, can I come out now?" a voice called from behind the massive pile of iron that Gajeel had been doing his best to stand nonchalantly in front of.

The Dragon Slayer froze, a look on his face like he had been caught with his hand in the cookie jar, as sweat slowly started pouring down the side of his face. In contrast, a massive shit-eating grin formed on my face...only to drop when the figure moved out from behind the pile.

The voice had been kind of high, so I'd honestly been expecting Gajeel had actually found himself a fangirl or something. Instead, the figure that came around the side of the pile was a small, black-haired kid. He couldn't have been more than twelve, and he was dressed in a tiny black cloak outlined in yellow, a grey shirt, and long black pants. His eyes were wide and innocent looking, and they almost seemed to sparkle when he looked at Gajeel with a smile.

I felt like I recognized him, but I struggled to place a name to the face. I wasn't really worried about who it was though, since I was pretty sure I was about to find out. He...actually looked a little bit like Gajeel, and I knew for a fact that Gajeel didn't have any siblings.

Of course, like any responsible victim, I immediately started planning to use this information to blackmail the fuck out of him. Payback for all those iron pillars to the gut.

"So…." I started, "you want to explain to me why you've stolen someone's kid?"

I didn't even need to see the pillar coming; I'd already ducked before it started to rush out of his arm.

"Shaddup Robinson, it ain't like that!" he snapped, retracting the pillar. "This is…uhhh..."

Thankfully for Gajeel's sake, the kid cut in. "I'm Ryos, and Gajeel is my big brother!"

...Oh sweet God above Gajeel Redfox was actually blushing.

The smirk that pulled on my lips was almost painful in its size, and accompanying it was the _click_ of realisation. I recognized the kid now; he was just a bit younger than I was used to seeing him. Rogue Cheney had apparently come to visit, even though I distinctly remember him not actually interacting with Gajeel when he was young and only looking up to him as a role model.

I guess I've had a much larger impact than I first anticipated. I say that casually, but I'm pretty sure the plot was so much dust in the wind at this point.

Eh, I'll deal with that when it comes around.

...I kinda wish I remembered why he called himself "Ryos", though.

The young Shadow Dragon Slayer turned to me after a moment of appreciating Gajeel with awe, a smaller but no less present glimmer of admiration in his eye even when it fell on me. "Oh! You're the Blue Blur! I read about you in Sorcerer Weekly, you beat that Zancrow guy a few months ago!"

Suppressing the reflexive cringe at the moniker, I smiled at Ryos, internally groaning at all the bullshit this would cause me in the future. "Yep, that's me," I said, going to kneel down in front of the kid.

In a moment of somewhat-blurry edges, he slipped behind Gajeel's leg before I'd even bent my knees halfway, his head just barely poking out around the edge of Gajeel's coat.

"Oi, don't startle the brat," Gajeel grumbled. "He's shy."

"You _do_ have a soft side, I fucking called it!" I replied, laughing as I kicked off the ground to avoid the iron pillar that promptly reduced the area where I'd been standing to dust.

Landing on top of the pile of iron, I sneered down at Gajeel. "Listen man, you've got to stop hitting things with pillars when they make you upset. If you want to take a moment and talk about your feelings—"

I didn't even get to finish the sentence before Gajeel launched himself at me, Ryos cheering him on from the ground.

' _Honestly, what's the worst that can happen? Rogue couldn't join Phantom Lord right now even if he tried, Jose has age requirements for joining,'_ I thought, grabbing Gajeel's arm and flipping him over my back. ' _And he'll stop talking to Gajeel after he joins Fairy Tail, so that should still work out.'_

…

' _Fuck, I forgot about the the guild war. What the hell am I gonna do—'_

The distraction of that stray thought gave Gajeel just enough of an opening to grab my shoulders and headbutt me off the pile. I flipped as I fell, managing to land on my feet even as my brain was throbbing in my skull.

"Oh you wanna go bitch?!" I yelled, magic roaring to life around me. "THEN LET'S GO!"

As I proceeded to reacquaint Gajeel's face with my boot, one last thought spiralled away from me. ' _I can think about this later. I've still got time.'_

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

' _I don't have any fucking time, goddamnit.'_

Here's the problem with universal travel: even if you end up going one of your favorite anime, or even just a series that you like, there is not a single chance that you'll remember every single detail about said universe off the top of your head. You'd have a much better chance if you wrote down everything you could remember about the world you're in, the _second_ you pop into it, but even then you would be missing things.

So when you haven't watched Fairy Tail in nearly three years before you died, and wrote _nothing_ down, you know just about jack shit when it comes to details.

I can still remember the general details of the Arcs at least, but I stopped watching the actual show after the timeskip. I only had a very rough idea of what happened after Tenrou Island, and that was before I died and came here.

Still though, the characters in the series were clad in so much plot armor that not even a nuke could get through it. I _probably_ don't need to worry about their safety, or at least the safety of the main cast, except for Gray.

Juvia pulled his ass out of the fire more times than most people can count. I'll probably have to keep an eye on him so his reckless ass doesn't get killed.

But back to the topic of remembering things.

I made sure to commit one thing to memory in my first few days, one detail that I absolutely didn't let fade from my mind. Namely, when canon finally started. July Second, x784.

...Or was it July Third…?

Either way though, thinking about it brought up another problem – an extra few inches on the growing pile I keep neglecting.

It's June 25th. And, just my luck, I booked Juvia and I's vacation for this week.

Yay me.

So what am I going to do about this sudden time crunch and the rapidly-approaching onset of this world's path to shonen bullshit? I'm gonna do what I normally do with problems like this, of course.

I'm gonna push it to the back of my mind and live in the moment.

Speaking of the moment…

I felt Juvia shift beside me, her head falling onto my shoulder. Guess she fell asleep.

Long train rides tend to do that.

It was about a three hour train ride to Hargeon, and after a long day of packing and _other_ activities, Juvia was pretty tired.

I ran my fingers through her hair, a fond smile on my face. Since I stopped hesitating, things between us had...well, not _completely_ stopped being awkward, but they had smoothed out a lot – and thank god for that.

Now I won't say that sex magically fixes everything about a relationship, because it doesn't. It was more the action of taking the next step in our relationship, rather than what that action entailed. Juvia was ready for the relationship to move forward, and lingering at the place we were at only caused emotional buildup, stress and doubt on both sides.

Or something like that. It's my first serious relationship, I can't be expected to get everything right. TLDR? We got past the confusion and we're better for it.

To be honest, I haven't been tracking days, or even trying to change events before they happen since I've gotten here. I suppose that once the canon starts, I'll be running damage control and trying to fix everything Fairy Tail eventually fucks up beyond all recognition.

…

' _Where did that come from?'_

I've been spending to much time around Jose. Thank god I'm going on a vacation.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

 _Hargeon_

 _1 week 'til canon._

Hargeon reminds me of home.

As Juvia and I stepped off the train, I couldn't stop a wild grin from spreading over my face. The streets were packed with wonderful markets, the town was alive with color and activity, and the _delicious_ scent of seafood wafted toward me from a nearby food stand.

God, it had been _ages_ since I had some good seafood...

I felt an arm link itself into mine, as Juvia firmly planted herself at my hip. I raised an eyebrow, but I hadn't even opened my mouth before she spoke up. "Juvia is staking her claim. She doesn't want any random street hussies getting any ideas," she said firmly.

"God help anyone who tries," I muttered fondly, leading the two of us towards the hotel I'd booked and memorised the route to.

Here's the funny thing about being a Guild Mage, especially one that's been featured in Sorcerer Weekly: people tend to know who you are. In Oak Town the people were used to having Mages around, even S-Class ones, and I'd been there long enough that they'd adapted to my presence as well, meaning no one really approaches me out of the blue.

But here? In Hargeon?

Well, let's just say that Lavender Crane played me up to be much more than I actually am. If you think about it, people came running when they just heard the _name_ Salamander, and that was before Bora charmed them all. So when a very famous Phantom Lord mage showed up in the middle of the town, it could be expected that a crowd would form.

And much to Juvia's and I's chagrin, there was a small crowd of girls following us about thirty feet back, all whispering and giggling under their breath. I could _hear_ Juvia's teeth grinding together, as I just sighed.

"Give em the glare," I said, averting my gaze.

"Are you sure? They might die a horrible pain-filled death for daring to look at David-sama with such lustful eyes."

"Do it."

I clenched my eyes shut, a feeling of Eldritch horror washing over me for second. It vanished quickly and I looked back to find that the crowd had completely vanished. Some passersby looked like they had just seen something straight out of HP Lovecraft, but those were acceptable casualties.

Juvia turned around with a smile, beaming up at me. "All done~"

"I hope that you won't have to use that too much," I mumbled. "We are on vacation after all."

"As long as they don't bother us, they won't get the glare," she huffed.

I could only give a fond sigh. Juvia will be Juvia, I suppose. Now, if I could go the rest of the week without seeing a single rabid fan, that would be perfect.

I pulled Juvia a little closer, and set off in the direction of our hotel.

' _I shouldn't let it get to me. This is my vacation time after all.'_

It only took about a minute to find the place we'd be staying, the Sunrise Villa. Appropriately titled because from the roof you could see the reflection of the sun across the ocean in the morning. The hotel was sorta famous for the view, and it had better be worth the 5 Star price I paid for it.

Oh yeah, I spared no expense for this vacation. I literally only spend money on rent, food and clothes, so I was really flush with cash from missions. The S-Class pay-scale is a blessing.

It only took a few minutes to check in and get up to our room – oh, excuse me, the _Penthouse Suite_. Juvia instant flopped down on the bed, letting out a relaxed sigh. " _Ahhhh, so comfy~"_

"I'm gonna change real quick Juvia, than we can get this vacation started," I called to her.

Juvia looked at me from the bed, and I swear I saw hearts in her pupils. "Oh?~ And how does David-sama plan on getting it started?"

"I'm gonna go to the casino and clear it out using my magic," I said with no hesitation.

Juvia looked completely shocked for a second before shooting me a small glare. "Why are you like this David-sama?"

"Because it's too much work being anything else," I replied, pulling out my bathing suit. "Plus it's always funny to see the look on your face when I say something dumb."

Juvia sighed, but I could see her cracking a smile as she pulled out her own bathing suit. "So what are we doing first David-sama?"

I couldn't hold back oncoming grin that split my face. "Have you ever flown before?"

Juvia looked towards me, a curious expression on her face. "What do you mean by that David-sama?"

Opening the door to our room's balcony, I took a step out into the evening air. Turning back towards Juvia, I extended a hand. "Let me show you," I offered with a smile.

If she had any doubts about my strange request, Juvia didn't voice them. Adjusting the strap on her swimsuit, _which didn't leave much to the imagination_ , she stepped outside with me. I scooped her up into my arms, classic bridal style. She snuggled into me, looking up with a curious expression.

"Do you trust me Juvia?"

She scoffed. "Juvia's insulted you even asked."

"Heh, sorry about that," I apologised, bracing my legs as I bent down slightly. "Just hold on tight then!"

In a flash of magic, we shot into the evening sky.

We had arrived at Hargeon in the very late afternoon, so the sun was just now setting, sending yellow-gold light cascading through the clouds overhead. Kicking off the air, Juvia and I ascended into the sky, her form pressed against mine as the winds whipped around us and the daffodil curtains of the heavens came closer. Then, with one final kick, we breached the clouds in an eruption of condensed moisture and sudden luminescence.

I stopped ascending, kicking the air in quick intervals to keep us aloft.

Now above the clouds, we could bear witness to the setting sun as it spilled a spectrum of light across the sea of vapour below us. Yellow, orange, red, and gold rays lit this hidden world with a glow like nothing else I'd seen, saturating everything with a warmth of colour that could beat back even the chills of high-atmosphere. I heard a gasp from my arms, and I looked down to see the heavenly vista reflected in Juvia's wide eyes as she stared into the sunset with awe. I would have had the same reaction, if I hadn't done this the second I learned Moonwalk.

"It's… _amazing_ ," Juvia whispered, tightening her grip on me. "Juvia feels…she feels so _free_."

"Probably should've shown you this earlier, but I wanted a good occasion to do it. I felt it was a good way to start our vacation."

"David-sama..." she began, looking up at me. "Is this what you feel everytime you fly?"

"Yeah," I said quietly. Only the voice of the wind was usually heard this high above the world; I didn't think I could have shouted even if I'd wanted to, such was the wish to preserve that sound of silence. "You really don't ever get used to it. It's so…"

I looked once more into the descending form of the sun, feeling nothing below my feet but the intermittent footholds of thin air, feeling nothing around me but the free-flowing wind, and seeing nothing above me but the endless bounds of the sky.

" _Liberating._ "

Juvia's arms wrapped around my shoulders, placing our faces only inches apart as she pulled me down. "Juvia doesn't know what to say…" she admitted. "She certainly didn't expect to _fly_ today," she added with a giggle.

"I wanted to share this with you Juvia," I told her, holding her close. "It's not much, but it's my way of saying 'thanks' for all you've done for me."

"Don't sell yourself short David-sama," she scolded me. "You've helped Juvia far more than you know." I frowned, and she continued. "You don't have to do all of this for Juvia; she'd be happy just spending time with you."

I let out a small laugh. "Juvia I know that, you've made it very clear." I leaned in closer, so that our foreheads were pressed together. "But I _want_ to go over the top with things like this. You know why?"

"Why?" Juvia asked, her voice coming out as a soft whisper.

"It's because I love you."

No more words we're needed at that point.

Suspended in mid air, above the clouds with the setting sun setting the horizon on fire as we drew warmth from one another's lips in the frigid heights of the world, Juvia and I shared a moment that I'm pretty sure no one on Earthland had ever come close to matching before and maybe never would again.

Ain't _nobody_ gonna be able to top that.

 **Authors Note**

 **Sorry for being away for so long, I won't bore you with immense details. TLDR, this fic got put on the backburner for a LONG time due to a combination of family stuff, getting into college, extracurriculars, and relationships. Thank you all for messaging me and reviewing, I read everything even if i don't respond. Your support gave me the kick in the ass I needed to get to writing again.**

 **Thank you all, couldn't ask for better readers than you guys.**


	12. Back on Track

As much fun as I've had over my vacation, I always knew it was doomed to be ruined.

Some of the ways, I'd expect. Some I inevitably _wouldn't_ expect. And some would manage to fall in the gap between those two because _magic._

Why the pessimism? Because this bullshit always happens to me, _that's_ why. Not to say that this week hasn't been one of the best vacations of my life, but the looming threat of canon hanging over my head kinda put a damper on my mood.

Well, that, along with some other things — but we'll get to that later.

Over the course of our vacation, Juvia and I managed to hit most of the stuff I had planned for the week. A list which included, but was not limited to: water skiing, afternoons spent on the beach, watching sunsets on said beach, winning big in the casino, romantic dinners and eating so much seafood that we felt sick.

In my case, I just overate. In Juvia's case, she actually had some bad seafood. Not full-on food poisoning, thank god, but she woke up today with some serious nausea and cramps. We're hoping it gets better for dinner tonight, but Juvia elected not to leave the room till she felt better.

If she hadn't told me not to, I would have gone straight to the vender and told him exactly where they could shove the food he was selling. Food vendors are hit or miss, especially with seafood, but it was still my girlfriend throwing up in the bathroom and I would have quite happily given him a chance to go and catch some better product.

A quick bath (attempted drowning) would probably have done him good.

Still, one way or another I was left with the rest of the day to myself, because Juvia wouldn't let me stay with her all day despite my pestering.

That _also_ brings me to the first of my expected vacation-ruiners, and it just so happened to be the continuation of what seems to be almost a theme for me at this point.

Sorcery Weekly and their reporters are the fucking bane of my existence, and I'm blaming Jose on this one. If that bastard hadn't forced me into that interview, I would've probably been bumped off that damned list of potential boyfriends. But nope, I'm number three and it _shows_.

Remember in canon when people came running at the mere _mention_ that Salamander was in town? The second Sorcerer Weekly got wind of the famed 'Blue Blur' taking a vacation in Hargeon, they sent enough reporters to make a fucking _platoon_. And guess what each and every one of them asked?

If I would be interested in taking part in the newest special catalogue, "Summer Shoots, Guys Gone Wild."

I have never cringed so hard that it gave me whiplash, but I've come really close over the past week.

And they _won't stop bugging me!_

Crowds of reporters followed behind Juvia and I everywhere we went in the town, sticking their faces and cameras in the windows of any restaurant we went to, and even burying themselves in the sand so they could get a shot of me at the beach. I've actually had to cancel reservations at some places, because the reporters would completely fill up the rest of the restaurant.

If you think the Paparazzi are bad, you haven't seen the _anime_ Paparazzi.

I don't think I've ever even considered lashing out against civilians in my entire time as a Guild Mage, but I won't lie, that thought has been coming to the surface of my mind a _lot_ recently.

Thankfully, most of them have cleared out once they got the message that I wasn't interested in participating in whatever hell they planned to put me through. I have Juvia to thank for that; The Glare has been most effective in scaring them off. They still ruin the mood, but at least they left us alone after witnessing localized Eldritch Horror.

Speaking of localized Eldritch Horror, I hope Juvia feels better soon. I booked us a booth at one of the fanciest places in Hargeon, one of the places you've gotta dress up really nice for.

Other than that activity, I have pretty much the whole day free. And I plan on being productive. I wanted to get some things that would help me when I have to fight; weapons, magic items...and probably some enchantments on my clothes so they stop getting torn up every single fight.

Problem is, I'm not going to find that in Hargeon. I have to commision magic clothes commissioned at an Enchanter's, and there's few to no weapon shops in a port town. Hargeon also isn't a Guild city/town, so I couldn't go looking for local Mages to get stuff from. I'd have to look elsewhere.

There is one place in Hargeon that sells magic items though, I remember that much. Don't remember if there was anything that happened there. Eh, in a town as un-magical as this? Probably not.

...But if nothing happens there, why do I feel this overwhelming sense of dread?

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

It was pretty easy to find the magic shop, considered it was heavily advertised out front.

Entering the shop, the shelves were stocked full of various magic items. Magic skin care products, various books that could teach you basics about magic and how to learn certain types of it— _and wouldn't that have been useful a while back._ There were barrels full of different items along the walls, staffs leaning into racks, collections of random containers with a variety of labels scattered across shelves, larger items on display stands, and even brooms hanging from the ceiling.

And in the whole damn mess, _nothing I could really use_. Most of this stuff was for people who didn't use magic as a career.

I made my assessment in a subjective moment, and my irides dimmed as my magic left them and my senses fell into step with the outside world. Behind the counter at the back of the store, an elderly man finished looking up at me, hearing the door open. He was mostly bald with two tufts of hair, an oddly pig-like nose, and he was wearing a yellow shirt below a small, green, conical hat with a purple star on it.

"Well hello there young man," he greeted me cheerily. "Welcome to the Proper Grocer, providers of all Hargeon's magical needs for nearly twenty years. If you need any help, don't hesitate to ask."

I smiled at him. "Yeah actually, I could use some help. You wouldn't happen to have any pouches or bags that can hold a lot more stuff than usual, would you?"

He paused for a bit, considering the question. "No I'm sorry, we don't carry anything like that."

I frowned.

"Now now don't make that face young man," he told me quickly. "I'm sure I have something that might interest you." He started rummaging through stuff behind the counter. "We don't have any bags like that, but I have something similar you might be interested in."

He pulled out a red book, dusting it off a bit before handing it to me as I approached the counter. It had a nice, simple cover with the title written out with golden ink. 'Improving your life with Requip.'

"This book will teach you the basics of Requip Magic," he told me. "Unfortunately we don't have the more advanced books in stock right now, but I could place an order if you're looking for them."

I thumbed through the book quickly...well, quickly by most people's standards. It mostly focused on just learning Requip, covering a few of its basic uses. It didn't seem to cover changing your outfit on the fly; just how to 'equip and unequip' items.

It wasn't what I originally wanted, but it was certainly a better alternative. "Don't worry about ordering, I'll get this book," I replied after a moment. "How much is it?"

"10,000 Jewel."

I whistled at the price, but handed over the money anyway. I'm on S-Class pay after all, and I wasn't about to argue down a price with this man; probably wouldn't work anyway, considering it didn't...with...Lucy...

…

 _Fuck I just remembered._

As if the universe had been waiting for those thoughts to toss the shit at the fan, the front door to the store opened with a soft _ding_ and in walked a figure that rivaled _Juvia_ in terms of unrealistic proportions. Clad in a blue and white outfit, complete with a whip and a ring of golden keys on her belt, golden blonde hair shifting as she walked.

I was a bit shocked at how close my own dirty-blond hair was to hers in shade.

I was _more_ shocked at my own idiocy, for completely forgetting the _introduction scene_ for the _main character of Fairy Tail_. Gotta remember that Lucy is the protagonist, not Natsu, but it's been three years and a whole new life since I'd seen the anime.

There was a pause as Lucy and I made eye contact.

Than the dam broke.

"It's The Blue Blur! _In the flesh!"_ she gushed, and I could practically see the small hearts in her eyes. "You're Phantom Lord's star wizard! I can't believe you're in this backwater town, and in the same magic shop! I've read all the articles about you in Sorcerer Weekly, _andyou'renumberthreeonthelistofmagesyouwantasyourboyfriend!~_ "

I was nearly blown back at the stream of facts that Lucy was spouting at me. Considering she had gone into full on fangirl mode, I couldn't help but cringe. She was like this at the start of the anime, but changed over time. _And did she just fucking say 'Star Wizard'?_

"Star Wizard?" I asked, interrupting the deluge of information that Lucy was spouting. "They aren't calling me the Ace of Phantom Lord are they?"

"Oh, no," she replied, blushing and averting her eyes slightly. "I just said that because you're the most known member of Phantom Lord."

"Thank _God,_ " I sighed in relief. If people had started talking like I was the Guild Ace, there would have been nowhere on Earthland I could have run to escape Gajeel as he hunted me to get that title back.

"Why wouldn't you want to be considered the best in the Guild?" she asked.

"It's not that I don't want to be," I told her somewhat absently, "it's that the current Ace would be pissed if I just got the title handed to me."

She nodded, the blush starting to fade now that we were talking like normal people. "But I still don't understand. What's such a famous mage like you doing in a backwater town like this?"

The shop owner coughed.

He was ignored.

"I'm here on vacation with my girlfriend," I responded, hoping that getting to the heart of things would prevent any... _misunderstandings._

Couldn't have Juvia murdering the main character after all.

Lucy's blush faded quickly, and even if she tried to hide it there was a sour expression on her face.

"Don't give me that look, she staked her claim _long_ before I got famous," I told her, taking on a very serious tone. "Plus, I'm warning you — she's S-Class, _very_ protective, more than a little paranoid, and she's got a range bigger than most cities. So any ideas you've got? Just throw them away now. For your own safety."

"Uh… Got it…" She nodded, looking pretty shaken and very confused.

The same reaction people have when they meet Juvia for the first time, funnily enough.

"Anyway, it's been nice talking with you," I continued, capitalising on the opening, "but I've got to go figure out where the hell I can rent a suit in this town." There, made myself a way out of this conversation. Now to get the Hell out of—

"Oh I actually passed a tailor's on the way here," Lucy interrupted me, the open door to freedom slamming shut with a dull _thwump._ "I can show you after I'm done shopping here."

On one hand, I don't want to talk to Lucy in fear of her getting any ideas. Whether that be joining Phantom Lord, or trying something with me anyway despite my warnings about Juvia.

Honestly? I don't know which one would be worse.

On the other hand, I can't just say _no_ and leave. That's just plain rude, and I get the feeling that if I do that to Lucy, it would be the equivalent of kicking a puppy. Looks like I'm gonna be dragged into canon because I don't want to be 'rude towards a lady'. My mom raised me well but it's screwing me over now.

"Sure, I'll wait for you outside," I said, accepting my fate and heading out the door, leaving Lucy to her shopping.

I swear, if I see a single reporter while Lucy is leading me to the Tailor's, there will be blood.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Thankfully they were preoccupied with the _other_ famous mage that just so happened to arrive today, judging by the distant shouts of 'Salamander'.

Looks like Bora's in town, and that means Natsu isn't far behind.

Recalling my brief interaction with Natsu, I can't even remember why I was scared when I first met him. I guess Zancrow and Gajeel topped him in terms of being 'fucking terrifying Slayer Mages'.

Though I'm not _scared_ of Gajeel any more. Beating someone's ass into the ground a few times goes a long way towards destroying any fear you have of them. Of course, to be fair, he's done that same thing to me just as many times, if not more, but it all balances out somehow.

...You know, just saying that makes me think I have issues.

It didn't take long for a disgruntled looking Lucy to storm out of the shop, a small wooden box clenched in her hand.

"Stupid old man… Can't recognize real beauty when he sees it," she grumbled, pocketing the wooden box.

"He charge you an arm an a leg?" I asked, falling in step with Lucy as she started to walk off.

"Practically my whole body, _not that someone like him could appreciate it!_ " she replied, sending a glare towards the shop.

"Yeah," I agreed. "For a guy who sells stuff to passing wizards, he charges a lot."

Before either of us could say anything, there was a loud noise coming from the plaza before us. Excited shouts, the sounds of people swooning (and yes I know that shouldn't have a sound but I swear to God I could hear it), and generally a _lot_ of girls screaming the name 'Salamander.' I took a glance at the plaza, taking in the large collection of women of all ages who were crowding around a single figure who looked like they were signing autographs and posing.

"Salamander? The famous mage that uses fire magic you can't even get in stores?!" Lucy gushed, staring at the crowd. "Who'd expect that _two_ famous mages would be visiting this dead-end town at the same time?"

She turned towards me, an asking look on her face.

"No go ahead," I said, waving her off. "I'm not offended. After all, what are the chances of this ever happening again? I can find the Tailor myself, thanks for your help…?"

"Uh...heh. Sorry, I forgot to introduce myself, I'm Lucy," she replied sheepishly. "Kinda slipped my mind…"

"It's no problem, nice to meet ya Lucy. I'm David, the actual person behind all the articles," I said with a grin. "I'll see you around Lucy, I've got a tailor to find."

"See you later David!" she said, waving at me as she raced down to the plaza.

…

' _Thank god, I thought I was gonna be stuck with her all day. And who knows how Natsu and Happy will react to me?'_ I thought, heading back towards the hotel.

As much as I want to _strangle that worthless human trafficker sleazebag Bora with my bare hands,_ who am I too stop Lucy and Natsu's famous first meeting?

Plus if I were to go down there right now there's _no way_ that Natsu or Happy wouldn't recognize me on the spot. Not exactly sure if that interaction would be good or bad, but I really don't want to find out. After all, I've got a hot date tonight.

Hopefully the situation with Bora would work out. 'Cause if it _doesn't…_

Then Bora's gonna have to deal with _me._

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

It took all of ten minutes to get fitted with a suit, which honestly surprised me. The tailor had recognized me by the time I set a foot in the store, had me in the dressing room by the first ten seconds, had me measured by the first minute, and then I was out the door with a lighter wallet and a damn fine suit.

As the world's foremost expert on speed (outrun me if you want to dispute that), I was impressed.

It was getting be the late afternoon, and I got back to the hotel just as the light of the sun was starting to shift from yellow to orange. It didn't take me too long to get to Juvia and I's suite, and upon entering I was please to see Juvia up and about. She must have gotten over the nausea and ordered room service, judging by the emptied plate on the table.

"Ah, David-sama! How was your day?" Juvia asked with a smile, wrapping her arms around me.

"You know," I sighed, returning the hug. "Walking, shopping, dodging paparazzi, dealing with fangirls, getting a suit." I shrugged. "So pretty much the usual."

"David-sama made sure to tell them off?"

I sighed again, pulling back a bit to look her in the eye. "I made it very clear that I was taken Juvia."

Juvia beamed at me, planting a quick kiss on my lips. "That's all I ask David-sama."

I rolled my eyes. Juvia would be Juvia.

"Anyway, I managed to pick up a suit for tonight," I told her, grabbing the garment bag it had come in. "You've got everything you need right?"

"Yep!" she agreed. "Juvia bought a new dress before she came to Hargeon. All she needs to do now is shower and get ready."

"New dress huh? Mind if I see it?" I asked.

"Nope!~" Juvia said, grinning. "Juvia wants to surprise David-sama later at the restaurant tonight."

I shrugged. "Sure, sounds good. We have a reservation in about two hours, so you'll have time to shower and all that."

"Juvia was waiting for you to get back to take one," she informed me, breaking away and heading towards the bathroom.

Well, I _say_ bathroom, but I didn't pay the penthouse price to have _just any_ bathroom. It was nearly the size of a normal hotel room _and_ came complete with a personal hot-tub. I spared _literally_ no expense.

"Cool, let me know when you're finished so I can take one too," I called to her retreating form, setting my suit out onto the bed and reaching down to take off my shoes.

Juvia turned around, a confused look on her face. "You aren't going to join Juvia?"

I paused for a second.

"You've got a point there," I replied, taking off my shirt and heading to the bathroom.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

So we both fucked up.

Apparently it was _not a good idea_ to take a shower together two hours before a reservation, because the bathroom doesn't have a clock, and keeping track of time went out the window the _second_ we stepped into the shower.

A ten minute shower turned into a half hour shower…then a ten minute dip in the hot-tub…then _another_ shower.

That went on for a bit, until I actually bothered to check the time. And lo and behold, we were ten minutes away from our reservation time at probably the nicest restaurant in Hargeon.

It's safe to say that both of us panicked.

Juvia was able to flash-dry the both of us with her magic, saving some desperately needed time to get ready. I probably set a new world record for fastest dresser putting on my suit, and if I'd been racing Erza Scarlet it would have been a photo-finish. The suit itself was a simple, form-fitting black number that had come with a nice navy blue tie. Certainly nothing to write home about, but damn did it make me look good.

Juvia had locked herself in the bathroom, and from what I could hear she was putting on her dress and makeup at the same time.

"David-sama, how much time do we have left before the reservation?" Juvia asked, her voice somewhat muffled by the bathroom door.

"About five minutes!" I yelled back, desperately trying to get the unruly mess that is my hair into a respectable style. "How close are you to being done?"

"Definitely not within five minutes!" she replied. "Makeup takes time David-sama!"

I grimaced. The restaurant would give up our table if we were late, and I would be _damned_ if I missed another reservation this week. I've already had to give up three of them due to reporters, and I'm not gonna let this one slip away from us.

"David-sama, can you go reserve our table? Juvia can catch up after she's finished."

I thought it through for a moment, then nodded. "Sounds like a plan, see you in a bit!" I responded, exiting our room from the balcony in a flash of blue. The second my feet hit the street, I was off. It took all of twenty seconds to get to the restaurant at a fairly leisurely pace by my standards; a fancy, but not ostentatious, building that overlooked the docks of Hargeon.

I appeared in my customary flash of arcing blue light, nearly scaring the doorman half to death. He looked to be an older man, black hair with flecks of grey peaking through. He wore a nice long black coat, fashioned with golden buttons.

"Hi, sorry about that, nearly forgot about the reservation," I said quickly, hoping I hadn't scare him too badly.

The doorman collected himself, pulling out a clipboard. "No harm done, that's about the most excitement that's happened to me in a week," he said with a practiced smile. "What's the name of your reservation?"

"It should be under 'Robinson'."

"Ah yes, there you are," he muttered, checking my name on the list. "Table for two, the window seats overlooking the docks?"

"That's the one," I replied with a nod. "My date's gonna be a bit late, she can just give you my name right?"

"Certainly sir. I can lead her to your table if you'd like," he responded, holding the door open for me.

"Appreciate it man. Here, sorry for scaring you like that," I apologised, handing him a 1000J bill.

If there was any apprehension in his expression, it vanished in an instant as he accepted the tip. "Most kind of you sir, enjoy your dinner tonight."

Without another word, I stepped into the restaurant. As I walked over to Juvia and I's table, I couldn't help but appreciate how nice the restaurant was. It had a well stocked bar, tables covered in beautiful white dining cloths and fine cutlery. Sitting down at our table, I realised that this was probably the nicest restaurant that I had ever been in on Earthland.

I noticed a waiter heading towards my table, setting down two glasses of water. "Hello sir, my name is Jesse and I will be your waiter for this evening. Can I get you started with an appetizer?"

"No thanks," I told him. "I'm waiting on someone to arrive, and I'd like to order when they get here. Just water is fine for now."

"Of course sir, I'll return when the rest of your party arrives," he replied easily, heading back towards the kitchens.

I took a quick look around the restaurant, scanning to see if there were any signs of leeches (reporters) in the vicinity. Thankfully, all the other patrons were either engrossed in their own conversations or focused on their meals.

' _Perfect. No reporters, no missed reservations, and I still managed to get dressed up in time. Now all I've got to do is wait for Juvia, and then we can finally enjoy a nice dinner to ourselves'_

Hopefully she'd get here soon; I was looking forward to the 'surprise' she had planned.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Juvia took a look at herself, starting up and down at her reflection in the full length mirror. And honestly? She was pretty sure she could stop hearts with her appearance alone. She had chosen to go with a lengthy, form-hugging blue silk dress that showed off every inch of her curves. Adorning her neck was a small gold necklace, the only part of her attire that wasn't blue.

She hoped David-sama would like it, despite how rushed she had been when getting dressed.

Though she _might_ have been responsible for the two of them having to rush, Juvia really couldn't find it in herself to care. After all, being a little late was worth it after _that~._

Plus it wasn't all her fault; they would have gotten out in time, but David started to use his _magic…._

Juvia slapped herself lightly, stopping herself from having fantasies. It was rare for her to get them now, but she occasionally let her imagination run wild.

' _Juvia can't help it!'_ she thought to herself as she walked through the docks. ' _David-sama made this the best week of Juvia's life, it's natural that she—'_

Her thoughts were interrupted by a collections of sounds. Cheers, loud squeals of joy, and shouts of ' _Salamander!~_ ' coming from a small crowd of people in front of her. About ten girls were surrounding a man wearing ornate clothing and a long purple cloak.

"Ladies ladies! You're really to kind," the man said, waving a ring-adorned hand around. "There's still plenty of spots left for the party on my yacht, don't you worry."

Juvia rolled her eyes. This must have been the Salamander she had been hearing about from the hotel staff. While she was thankful for him showing up and taking up David's attention for a little while, she disliked the fact that he was using his fame to pick up women. Personally, Juvia thought his behavior was…

Was…

 _What was happening?_

The closer she got too the man, the more her heart started to pump. She was going to move past the crowd, but suddenly found herself making a beeline towards it. With each step, her heart beat faster and faster.

' _What's gotten into Juvia?'_ she thought, feeling her cheeks flush. ' _She's only felt like this around—'_

The man turned, causing Juvia to freeze as he locked eyes with her. His lips curled into a knowing smile, and he gave her a sly wink.

Instantly her heart _throbbed_ , the feeling that had taken over her suddenly became all consuming. Thoughts of…whatever she was doing before this faded in her mind as she walked over and joined the crowd.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Bora couldn't stop himself from grinning as he watched two pink hearts appear in the eyes of that _ravishing_ woman in blue. She'd certainly sell for a great price once himself and his crew reached Bosco.

"Now ladies," he said, flourishing his cloak. "What kind of host would I be if I didn't show you to the party? Come on, my yacht isn't far."

He was pleased to see that all the girls around him, including the woman in blue. Thankfully, there were no more meddling pink-haired kids around to break his charm, or he might have lost that blue beauty.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Ok, something is either seriously wrong, or I have severe misconceptions about how long it takes women to put on makeup.

According to one of the waitstaff, I have severe misconceptions.

But it's been over an _hour_ and I'm starting to worry.

I personally have no idea how long it takes to put on makeup, but I have a feeling that based on the circumstances, that it wouldn't take Juvia an entire hour to put on makeup. Plus, considering that Juvia knew we were in a rush, I doubted that she'd take an entire hour.

I left the restaurant, giving up on our reservation at this point. They weren't about to let me wait another hour without ordering anything.

Gathering my magic, I shot off in the direction of the hotel. Blurring past people on the street as small arcs of blue lightning snapped from my feet, it was only moments before I caught sight of the Sunrise Villa.

Launching myself off the ground I kicked the air, my feet finding purchase and giving me just enough momentum to touch down on the balcony of our room. In a quick flash of magic, I dashed throughout the entirety of the main room, bathroom and bedroom.

Juvia was nowhere to be found.

' _Something is wrong, something is very wrong,'_ I thought, the aura 'round my feet expanding upwards into a full cloak of deep-blue. ' _She has to be out in the city somewhere.'_

I stepped outside, the familiar feeling of magic spreading through my head. My eyes lit up white, the world around me slowing as my perceptions were accelerated. People on the street below stopped in their places, their movements slowing down to a crawl.

' _Guess I have to search the whole damn city,'_ I thought, leaping off the balcony.

" **Razor."**

Slamming my feet against the air ten times in an instant, I was catapulted over the rooftops in a blur of hazy blue. Adjusting myself with another kick, I flew over the streets of Hargeon. Slamming my feet into the air once more, I began to trace the streets of the city in a grid. My enhanced perceptions allowed me time to scrutinise every person on every street as I passed overhead. To my chagrin, none of them were Juvia.

Grimacing, I kicked my speed into a higher gear, blowing past buildings and rooftops at just-barely-subsonic speed. Within minutes (at least to me), I had searched the entire city and seen everyone who was outside.

Juvia was nowhere to be found.

' _What the fuck is going on?'_ I thought, touching down on an outcropping overlooking the city. ' _Juvia not out on the street, or in the hotel. That means she's either in a building or…'_

...

No.

There was no way, there was _no goddamn way_ that she was there.

I frantically looked out towards the ocean, seeing the distant shape of Bora's yacht on the horizon. The sight of it sent a rush of memories thought my head, minor stuff about Fairy Tail I hadn't bothered to remember.

Specifically, a little detail that I had butterflied away with my presence. In canon, Juvia had dated Bora for a time, before he decided the rain was too much and he left. That hadn't happened here, as Juvia and I had gotten together before she even met Bora.

Though that didn't really affect this situation, it made something click in my mind.

What if Bora had charmed her while she was walking to the restaurant? He specifically wanted pretty girls to sell to slavery—

…

It was instant.

White hot anger spiraled throughout my entire body. The panic and worry vanished beneath wave after wave of molten _fury,_ _ **that demanded I tear Bora apart with my bare—**_

"Hey buddy? What the hell's your deal? You're scaring people."

I turned towards the voice, and was greeted with the frowning visage of Natsu Dragneel. Happy sat on his shoulders, a smile on his face.

"Aye!" Happy quipped, raising a paw. "The magic you're letting off is crazy, it's freaking people out."

I looked down at myself, noticing the violent crackling aura of purple magic surrounding me. I didn't even notice my magic changing color, much less the intensity it had gotten to.

Taking a deep breath, I forced the anger and magic back down. The purple aura died down, shifting back to blue before it disappeared. "Sorry about that, I kinda didn't notice it got out of control."

"It's alright, as long as you're not making any trouble," Natsu replied, his frown disappearing. "What kind of magic was that anyway?"

"Speed magic," I said, keeping an eye on their reactions. "It makes an aura around me when I use it."

Natsu and Happy weren't exactly the brightest, and they didn't see to recognize me despite having seen me before. "Speed magic? Didn't Lucky say something about a guy with that being in the town?" Natsu asked, looking towards happy.

"Aye! She said a famous Phantom Lord Mage was here too!" Happy respond.

At the mention of Phantom Lord, Natsu's slitted eyes narrowed, and his aloof expression turned into a frown.

"Hey buddy, just cause we're from rivil guilds doesn't mean we immediately have problems with each other," I said, noticing suprise cross his face. "Yes I know you're from Fairy Tail. Unlike most people here, I can tell the fake Salamander apart from the real one."

"So you've seen that bastard around too," Natsu mused, slamming his fist into his palm with a burst of fire. "He's gonna pay for trashing Fairy Tail's name."

"Yeeeeah, sorry about that one man," I replied slowly, crouching low to the ground. "But I've got a hunch that he's managed to charm someone _pretty damn important to me_."

A crackling blue aura appeared around me, resurfacing along with my anger. "And _I'm_ the one who's going to make him pay, so **back off**."

If there had been tension before, it was practically palpable in the air now. Between the crackling aura around me, and the wisps of flame that were now coming off of Natsu, the tension was thick enough to cut.

"Oh?" Natsu said, a toothy grin crawling across his face. "If you think you're gonna beat him first you've got another thing coming _pal_."

I paused for a bit, considering his words. "You know, there's no reason that we can't both—"

Before Natsu or Happy could even react, I launched myself off the outcropping, the stone cratering under my feet. Natsu and Happy were blown back from the force, tumbling head over heels onto the ground.

There was no way in hell that I was gonna let Natsu get to Bora first.

" **RAZOR!"**

My feet smashed into the air, a massive echoing boom accompanying the rush of displaced air as I shot myself towards the boat in the distance. Azure magic swirled around me, my anger rising to the surface once more.

As I tore through the air, I happened to hear the enraged screams of Natsu behind me.

"YOU DAMN BASTARD, GET BACK HERE!"

Natsu could shove it. Bora was **mine.**

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

 _Third Person._

Tears began to pool in the eyes of Lucy Heartfilia.

Surrounding her were the grinning faces of the thugs aboard Salamander's ship, among them being "Salamander" himself. The mage who once proclaimed he was a member or Fairy Tail, only to reveal himself as a slave trader.

"A celestial wizard than?" he sneered, holding up Lucy's Gate Keys. "Only the mage contracted can use these, so they're useless to me."

With a flick of his arm, her keys were tossed over the side of the ship. "Whoops." He grinned. "I guess my fingers slipped."

And with that, Lucy's last hope of getting away vanished, along with all of her Spirits, to the bottom of the ocean.

The tears began to fall, as Lucy looked around at the girls who had met the same fate as her. She locked eyes with the man responsible, as the tears ran down her cheeks.

"You used magic to take advantage of everyone, all these girls…" she spat, as the thugs around her grabbed her. " _You're the worst Wizard alive!_ "

Whatever retort or gloat that was about to come out of Bora's mouth was silenced by an almighty _crack_ of wood. The ceiling broke apart with a thunderous _bang_ , sawdust and chunks of wood showering everyone in the room.

The dust settled, revealing a figure which Lucy instantly recognized, and the feelings of dread and hopelessness she felt vanished.

"David!"

The thugs, including Bora, stared on in shock as David walked over to Lucy without a care in the world.

"Hey Lucy, fancy seeing you here," he said, handing back her ring of keys. "I think these belong to you."

"Thanks David," she replied, turning back towards Bora. "You guys are gonna get it now!"

"Lucy, get the other girls out of here, find the wheel and steer the ship back towards the shore," David barked, his tone leaving no room for argument. "This is going to get ugly."

"Ah! Yes sir!" she quickly replied, rushing out of the room as she ushered the other quickly-fleeing women from the room. "Kick their asses from here to Hargeon!"

Some of the thugs moved to stop them, but stopped as Bora raised his hand. "Don't mind them men, we'll just collect them later." He grinned, looking towards David. "So who are you supposed to be? Her 'knight in shining armor', showing up to save her?"

A few of his men chuckled, pulling out their weapons and raising their fists as they did.

"Well, sorry to break it to you _kid_ but you're hopelessly outnumbered," he sneered. "Get him men!"

With that, all of the men rushed forwards, shouting battle cries and raising their weapons.

With the Speed Magic suffusing his form and mind, David had almost literally forever to judge the men approaching him.

He looked at each one in turn, considering them. Their rough clothing, their scars, the looks of savage glee on their faces as they brandished weapons and fists.

And he thought to himself, ' _What a waste.'_

In a single, fluid motion, David drew back his arm and let his fist fly into the chest of the man closest to him.

In the first instant of the collision, there was no sound and no recognition. The man's legs moved as if to keep running, his sword remained lifted above his head in preparation for a downward stroke, the primal wish to inflict harm for his own enjoyment still burned in his eyes. Even as his entire body was folded double over David's fist, his spine barely holding together, neither he nor his companions had time to register the fact that he'd just been hit.

Then the first instant passed – and the sound of his ribs shattering, his spine shrieking, his sword falling to the ground and his internal organs getting slammed with the force of a runaway car was swallowed up by first the _boom_ of David's fist moving through the air, and second by the colossal series of wooden shattering noises as the man was propelled backwards through first one wall, then another, then another and another before he exploded out the front of the ship and skipped across the water into the distance beyond the horizon.

"You know _Bora_ , I don't think you understand exactly what you're dealing with here," David said in a deceptively calm manner as the men suddenly realised that their friend was gone and tried to parse what had just happened.

While they were doing so, David casually reached out and grabbed another thug by the neck. Then, without even shifting his footing, he dragged the man into the air and threw him through the nearest wall in a brief spark of blue light.

Another figure went skipping over the water.

"So I'm going to make this nice and simple for you all."

David's aura exploded into violent blue life, his magic crackling around him like a plasma ball as it sparked to nearby surfaces. The air around his body suddenly accelerated away like a wind cannon, throwing the thugs nearest to him through the walls and ceiling, their limp forms crashing down into surrounding waters. The sounds went unnoticed though, because all the slavers unfortunate enough to _remain_ in the ship found themselves being pressed down on by what felt like chains of purest dread.

Constant waves of magical energy washed over them like the ocean, and every single one felt ready to drag their souls into the depths to never see the light again.

"You're going to tell me where my girlfriend is," David asserted, his tone a low growl, "and come quietly with me to the Rune Knights. And maybe, _maybe,_ I won't break every bone in each one of your bodies."

Bora laughed. "You may be a mage, but you should make threats that you can actually—"

Bora didn't even see him move.

As if it happened all at once, each one of Bora's men was _smashed_ into the floor, cracking the wood beneath them enough that the remaining flooring started to creak ominously Bora himself felt _something_ grab his neck, nearly crushing his windpipe as he was whipped around and slammed into one of the few remaining areas of intact wall.

" _I don't make idle threats_ _ **Bora,**_ " David snarled, tightening his grip on Bora's neck as he pinned him one-handed against the ship. Behind him, the rest of Bora's men were sprawled out on the ground, some of howling as they clutched their broken limbs. Some had their arms broken, cradling them in pain. Others were clutching their legs, many of those being bent at odd angles. The ones who remained silent only did so because they were lucky enough to be knocked unconscious.

 _One twist. Just one twist of the wrist, or a brush of the thumbnail, just a little_ _ **squeeze.**_

"Now, here's how this is going to work," David declared, his own glowing eyes starting into Bora's as he flexed his grip on the slaver's neck. "You're going to tell me _exactly_ where the person I'm looking for is, _or_ I'm going to start breaking ribs. _Capisce?"_

Bora nodded, struggling to even breathe in David's grip.

"She's got blue hair, sea blue eyes, and was probably dressed up very nice. Her name is Juvia Lockser."

"S-she's upstairs in one of the rooms," Bora choked out. "Top deck, room three, you can't miss it."

"So you _do_ have a brain in that thick skull of yours," David noted, lessening his grip slightly. "If I find a _single hair_ out of place on her head, the Rune Knights are going to be scraping you off the _floor_."

"G-got it…" Bora replied.

There was a shift in the ship, as it began to gradually turn back towards Hargeon.

"Guess Lucy found the wheel," David said, looking towards the door. "It's only a matter of time before we get—"

In the brief moment that David was distracted, Bora struck. A purple magic circle came to life in his hand, fire swirling around and from it as Bora aimed it towards David's chest.

" **Hell—"**

 _ **Boom.**_

Bora blinked in stupefaction, starting momentarily at the still-turned head of his captor. Then, slowly, he looked down at his arm...and saw the Speed Mage's fist pressing against the flopping, distorted limb having gone right through his magic circle and crushed the limb itself.

Bora dropped to the ground, clutching his now broken arm in agony as David's free hand released its grip on his neck and he stood above the slaver, glaring down on him.

 _Just aim a little higher, just grip a little and tear, just turn the hand around and_ _ **push.**_

"You know Bora, I don't know what you were expecting," David spat, glaring down at the Mage as he writhed in agony. "It took me less than a second to take out all your goons, and you thought you could get the drop on _me?"_

A foot slammed into Bora's back, pinning him to the ground with his broken arm beneath him and bringing a whole new round of screams. "I'll be honest, that was probably the _stupidest_ thing you could have done."

 _Step a little harder, plant the foot a little higher, reach down and grab hold and_ _ **break.**_

David paused. "On second thought, let's go over all the bad decisions you've made tonight."

Grabbing the back of his cloak, David tossed Bora up off the ground and into the air. As he fell, a fist slammed home into his stomach, sending him sprawling across the room as he rolled and skipped over the ruined floor and the bodies of his men.

 _Move a little faster, hit a little harder, flatten the fingers and aim upwards and_ _ **pierce.**_

"You used illegal magic to charm girls onto your yacht, with the intent of selling them into slavery."

David crossed the room in an instant, slamming his palm into Bora's chest with a loud _crack_ as he rolled into the air. The Mage was sent flying into the opposite wall, splayed out across it by the force. His scream of pain was cut short as David grabbed him by the neck again in a crushing grip.

 _ **Break through, break apart, break down.**_

"You took on the identity of a well known and respected _Fairy Tail Wizard_ , and used that reputation for your own ends."

Still holding his neck, David heaved upward, lifting Bora off the wall and choke-slamming him back down onto the floor. The air was forced from Bora's lungs in a wordless scream as David's foot smashed into his diaphragm.

"You used that same magic to charm the woman I can honestly say that I love, and tried to sell her into _slavery_."

David grabbed Bora by the hair, dragging him up to eye level. "And for that, _I'm going to take your_ _ **life**_."

 _ **IT WOULDN'T EVEN TAKE A SECOND.**_

There was nothing Bora could do. His body had gone limp at that point, his broken arm hung loosely at his side, and his broken ribs throbbed in agony. He couldn't do anything at that point but close his eyes and wait for the inevitable.

But it never came.

"Oh not physically," David continued, dropping Bora back to the floor where he crumpled like a half-full garbage bag. "I'm not some crazed psychopath that goes around killing every single bad guy he comes across. Just because I _can_ doesn't mean I'm going to."

David leaned down, his face hovering just inches above Bora's ear. "I'm just going to make sure that you get put away for _life_. No freedom, no rights, and no chance of getting out. Kinda ironic isn't it?" David said with a devilish grin. "It's what you were going to do to these girls."

And with that, David delivered a swift blow to Bora's head, knocking him out.

"The rest of you _bastards_ will stay here till we get back to Hargeon," David said, glaring at the rest of the thugs still clutching their broken limbs. " _Don't make me come back in here."_

They quickly nodded, not wanted to get the same treatment that Bora received.

And with a flash of blue, David vanished from the room.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

 _First Person._

I forcefully shoved down the white hot anger as I left. It was taking _far_ more effort than it should have to resist the urge to go back in there and end Bora's miserable existence.

It would be easy. So, so easy…

 _Too easy._

I mentally slapped myself, shoving away the surprisingly murderous thoughts. ' _What the hell was that David? You nearly beat a guy to death, and legitimately considered killing him.'_

That's something that I'll have to worry about later. Right now I needed to find Juvia.

Following Bora's directions, I dashed through the hallways of the ship, blowing past door after door until I reached room three. Nearly tearing the door off its hinges, I felt relief wash over me when I saw Juvia lying on the bed asleep, but otherwise unharmed.

I grabbed her shoulders, gently shaking her awake. Juvia's eyes fluttered open, meeting mine as she looked up at me with a confused expression.

"David-sama? What's going on—"

I could see the moment where her recent memories caught up to her. I watched them play across her face in myriad expressions, sliding constantly downhill until her face settled into a form of icy-cold _rage._

"Excuse me David-sama," she said with a voice like winter. "Juvia has to go _**drown**_ **a certain someone**." She started pushing herself off the bed, but stopped when my hand pressed down on her shoulder.

"Juvia, I've taken care of it. Did anything _else_ happen besides him charming you?"

"Not that Juvia remembers," she replied, rubbing her temples. "She got on the ship and was led to a room. She was put to sleep by magic after that…" I could see the anger in her eyes fading to confusion. "How did David-sama know Juvia was here?"

"Well, you didn't show up to dinner, so I—"

I was cut off by a massive _crash_ of splintering wood and metal, a scream that sounded suspiciously like Lucy, and a loud shout of "I think I'm gonna hurl!".

"You know, it's kind of a long story."

-0-

After a quick explanation of the night's events, Juvia and I stepped out onto the deck of Bora's ship. It was nearly empty, as most of the 'guests' were asleep inside the boat; the exceptions were the group of girls that had been conscious with Lucy, who had all huddled together near the forward railing. Looking up, I spotted the brand-new hole in the ship's canopy that probably looked like Natsu.

"Lucy!" I shouted up towards the upper parts of the ship. "How long till we reach the port?"

It took a minute for Lucy to poke her head over the balcony. "Only a few minutes, the ship should stop itself."

A familiar blue cat also poked his head over. "Aye! It's powered by magic so the ship will drop anchor on its own!"

"How do you – nevermind." I'm just not gonna ask how Happy knew that. "Just come down to the deck. We need to make a game plan before we get back to Hargeon."

Lucy nodded, disappearing from the balcony. Juvia looked at me with a raised brow.

"David-sama, why is there a talking blue cat on the ship?" she asked.

"You know, it's a bit complicated," I replied, already dreading the explaining I'd have to do. "Hopefully we can get this over quick and go back to the hotel, because this whole day has just been a complete shitshow."

It took another minute for Lucy to get on the bottom deck, followed by Happy, who was making lazy circles in the air around her head. There was a loud crash from the inside of the ship, and Natsu proceed to drag himself onto the deck. With one hand I might add, as the other one was covering his mouth.

I wonder if motion sickness was that bad for all Dragon Slayers, or Natsu was just a special case.

"Juvia has several questions."

"Is one of them, 'Why does the talking cat have wings?'"

"Yes."

"Really couldn't tell you," I said, stepping forward. "Hey guys, this is Juvia, my girlfriend. Juvia, this is Lucy, Natsu and a flying blue cat respectively."

"Hey, I have a name too you know!" Happy quipped. "I'm Happy!"

Lucy waved, a bright smile across her face. "Hi, I'm Lucy. David and I met this morning." She chuckled sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head. "Probably should have expected him to be dating Phantom Lord's strongest female mage, though. It would have saved me a lot of embarrassment!"

Juvia locked eyes with Lucy, the air around her starting to grow heavy with moisture. Her eyes darkened, as her hair began to rise like a nest of angry snakes. I was close enough to hear a whisper.

" _ **Love riv—"**_

"You two make a really cute couple!" Lucy gushed.

And like that, the oppressive aura around Juvia vanished in an instant. She looked to the ground, bashfully shuffling her feet. "D-do you really think so?"

"Totally!"

The beautiful moment of Lucy and Juvia bonding was interrupted by the sound of Natsu puking over the side of the ship.

I raised a brow. "Is he gonna be ok?"

"Aye, Natsu has bad motion sickness. He'll be fine when we land."

"Anyway, we should be able to contact the Rune Knights when we get to port. They'll deal with all of the slavers," I said, glancing at Lucy. "Speaking of which… **They didn't do anything to you or the other girls on the ship,** _ **did they?"**_

"I mean, other than being tricked into thinking I'd get into Fairy Tail, and nearly losing my keys, I'm fine," Lucy responded. "They put everyone to sleep a few minutes after we left port."

"Good, at least none of you were hurt," I sighed. "When we get back to Hargeon, could you wake all of the girls on the ship up and let them know what happened."

""Aye sir!""

Lucy and Happy looked at each other.

"Stop copying me you stupid cat!"

Before they could break into argument, the ship lurched slightly before coming to a stop. The once distant sights of Hargeon were now only little over a hundred feet away. Bora's ship had come to a stop on one of the sandy parts of Hargeon's coast, somewhat beaching itself on the shore.

"I thought you said it would drop anchor itself?"

"Well…" Lucy said, sheepishly rubbing the back of her head. "I kinda pressed random buttons until the ship turned around…"

"At least you didn't crash it…"

"I'll go wake the girls up now…" she trailed off, starting to head back into the ship.

"Hold on just a _goddamn second_."

All of use turned to face Natsu, who had stopped puking off the side of the boat, and was now standing up and glaring at me. His face was twisted into an annoyed snarl.

"That bastard was mine to fight!" he said, pointing an accusing finger at me. "He was trashing Fairy Tail's name!"

I gave him a _look_. "He charmed my girlfriend with the intent to sell her into _slavery_. I think that gave me the right to kick his ass first."

Natsu shook his head. "Nope, he was going around using my name before that happened. That gives me first dibs."

"Dibs doesn't apply unless you call it, and I'm pretty sure _I_ said I was gonna beat him first."

"No, _I_ got dibs because he was using my name before the charming thing."

"Do you know how dibs works?"

"Do _you?"_

"Wait, so _Natsu_ is _Salamander!?"_ Lucy asked, her jaw almost slamming into the deck.

"Did you not figure that out? Jeez Lucky you must be pretty dumb," Happy said, dodging under Lucy's following swing.

"Why don't you go shove it cat! And my name isn't Lucky!" she yelled, taking another swipe at Happy before turning back to us. "I don't get it though, if you both were after the same guy, why didn't you work together?"

"" _BECAUSE I CALLED DIBS!""_ both Natsu and I shouted, glaring at each other.

I couldn't help a smug grin from crossing my face. "It doesn't really matter now, I already beat his ass six ways to sunday. Guess you weren't fast enough Natsu," I said with a shrug.

"That's not the point you bastard! I called dibs first, and you took the fight anyway!" Natsu growled, taking a step towards me.

"I still don't think you understand what dibs is."

"That doesn't matter, the point is you owe me a fight!" Natsu said with a grin, cracking his knuckles. "And I saw what you did to that poser, it's got me all fired up!"

Now, you have two options when the main character of an anime challenges you to a fight. You can puss out like a bitch, or you can accept the challenge. And I'm going to be honest, I've been itching for a chance to see the fruits of my training.

I considered him for a moment, tilting my head to the side. "You know what Natsu? You're right," I said, ignoring the incredulous looks Lucy and Juvia were giving me. "I do owe you a fight, but I've got one condition."

"Name it."

I stepped over, whispering in Natsu's ear. "Let Lucy join Fairy Tail. Bora tricked her into thinking she'd get in, and she's always wanted to join."

Natsu shrugged. "Sure, I was gonna ask her if she wanted to anyway."

I smiled, silently thanking God that I was able to keep canon somewhat on track. God forbid if Lucy asked to join Phantom Lord. I have no idea what the hell would happen to canon if Lucy didn't end up in Fairy Tail.

"So Natsu…" I said, no longer whispering. "I've got one more question for you…"

The air around me crackled with magic, my eyes lighting up blue.

" _You think you're ready to fight an_ _ **S-Class Mage**_ _?"_


	13. David's Interlude

**AN:** This is something that I've been throwing around in my head for a while, but never got to posting it. Or writing it for that matter, but that's not the point.

This is a way for you to see Davids inner thoughts, so you get a better grasp of him. It's a very 'stream of consciousness' kinda thing, so take it for what it is.

* * *

 **David's Journal**

 **By: Me, who the fuck else would it be.**

You know, I probably should have done this the second I had enough Jewel to buy this damn thing, but most of my time was spent trying to figure out how I could copy stuff from One Piece. And I don't have to tell myself how much I regret that shit, I've got a weird magic glass eye to remind myself every single day.

I finally got the opportunity to actually put something down in this, Juvia's been wanting to do everything together as a couple on our vacation, so my time is kinda limited. But it's the steps you take in the journey yeah?

Shit's started to hit the metaphorical fan with 'canon' starting sometime this week, and I can't just remember everything. So I finally brought myself to buy a Journal, and just write down everything I remember and need to note down. It might be a little weird, but I like writing so it's fine. Plus this is for myself anyway, not like I'm gonna just let _anyone_ look at it.

Hmm, how should I start this?

…

I think Speed magic is a good place to start. Kinda weird to talk about myself so much honestly, but this is pretty damn important so whatever. My magic is unique, even when you think about all the weird shit in Fairy Tail. I'm just gonna write everything I know about it, simple and easy. I can look back at this if I need to. At least in my experience, Speed magic works on both a physical and conceptual level. I can both Speed things up and slow them down, it's pretty simple.

Yeah no, it turns out it's not that simple, I'm messing with it right now with this pencil. I tried to slow it down, but nothing really happened. It still felt just like it normally would, even if I slowed it down. But it was still, well, _slowed._ I just don't know _how_ yet. That's something to figure out later, but I gotta write down all that I _do_ know first.

 _ **What is, 'Speed Magic'?**_

 _What it looks like_

When I use it, I can surround whatever I'm touching in my magic, but I can't keep it going if I'm not touching it. When I channel my magic, I can either channel it _into_ something or _around_ something. I think it would be easiest to describe as looking like a Super Saiyan 2, but the aura and lightning/sparks are both blue. When I'm just channeling it as normal, it comes out as blue, at least when my intent is to speed myself up. The more power I put into it, the deeper the color and the more, well, _intense_ things get. The 'lightning' starts to spark off of me much further. Pretty sure it just speeds up whatever it hits… Wonder if I can control it?

My magic has 2 parts to it, Acceleration and Deceleration. Each aspect of it causes it to appear a different color, with the colors at least _seeming_ to follow the color spectrum. Scratch that, the _visible light spectrum_ is the better way to describe it. The more I accelerate it, the shorter the wavelength and the faster it goes.

The more I _decelerate_ it, the longer the wavelength and the slower it goes. The color changes with that…? I think… I never liked science classes, I was an English kid. The color changes depending on the intent and _power_ I put behind it. I think Acceleration is the better way to describe it… Well anyway, acceleration comes in two forms that I know of. Blue is my normal stage of operation, and if I kick it up a notch it turns purple. Slowing things down changes the magic into a yellow/gold color, I don't know if I can slow it down further.

Note to self, experiment with this when I got the time. _Another_ Note to self, finish this after Juvia is done pestering me to take a shower. I think that takes a higher priority right now.

 ** _David-sama, this is so cute! What's 'canon' mean though? Juvia is confused._**

Ok, I managed to wrestle this back from Juvia, yeah _that's_ gonna be fun to explain later. Gotta keep it vague BECAUSE SHE KEEPS LOOKING OVER MY SHOULDER. I managed to convince her that I meant meeting someone from Fairy Tail, she accepted that because, well…..

IT'S _FAIRY TAIL_. The guild specifically.

Ok, gotta write stuff down…

Well, my magic allows me to decelerate and accelerate things at will… But I'm really not sure what that _means_ yet. Can I throw something and multiply its speed to make it go faster? Can I slow something down and stop its movement completely? I honestly don't know yet…

 _What Can I do with it?_

Far as I know, there isn't anything I _can't_ do with it. I'll keep this as a list of Techniques. Only useful shit though, because I really don't need a name for punching the shit outta someone.

 **Shave:** Kicking the ground at least ten times in a row as fast as I can, I can rocket myself forward in a straight line. It takes a toll on my legs, but the instant speed boost is worth it. Use if I need a quick upper hand in a fight.

 **Moonwalk** : Kicking the air with enough force to propel me forward. Basically allows me to 'fly'. Thank god Fairy Tail doesn't have the exact same physics, as it's pretty likely I'm affecting the Ethernano in the air rather than the _actual_ air.

 **Razor:** By using both Shave and Moonwalk at the same time, I can achieve 3D movement around opponents and such. This fuckin HURTS to do, I should only use it if I need a HUGE boost in speed.

 **Tempest Kick:** By kicking the air and accelerating it at the same time, I can send a tiny blade of wind out from the arc of my kick. I really should only use this if I NEED to because it'll kill someone if it hits in the right spot. Save this for dark mages if I can't make it non-lethal.

 **Tenfold Impact:** I hit someone ten times before the resulting force from the blows affects them (sends them flying). It's really effective for quick damage on someone and can break through defenses like Gajeel's Iron Dragon Scales.

Note to self, don't fuckin hit Gajeel with fists, use palm strikes. Don't break your own fingers, David, you can force your way through stupid (Gajeel).

 **Gear Second:** Very complicated, very hard, and pretty damn useful. I accelerate both myself and the internal respiratory functions of my body, sending myself into overdrive. I've mastered it, but prolonged use will destroy my body. I can't push the internal stuff too hard, or I will fucking DIE.

However, this is currently the only way I've broken the speed of sound. I don't know if I _can_ just yet, without using this of course. But I got a feeling after that training from hell I can probably push Mach 1 with Gear Second.

 **Gear Third (WIP): Dangerous, risk of death, don't ever use unless you need to.**

 **Manual Regeneration:** I gotta use a lot of Magic Power to make this happen, but damn is it useful out of combat. It allows me to heal minor injuries in seconds and pretty much sleep off anything worse. I gotta be careful and do it _very_ slowly, or I could lose control of it and… Well, I don't want magical cancer. No one does. Do you want magical cancer? Because that's how you fucking get magical cancer.

 **Virginia Smash (Or any flavor of** _ **Smash**_ **):** I just gotta put everything I have into the speed of a single punch. Considering this broke my fucking arm the last time I used this, I gotta use it sparingly. But _damn_ , all I need is one punch to send anyone flying. If the force broke my own bones, it'd probably shatter anyone I hit it with. Zancrow was the exception, as all fucking Dragon, God, Devil, Slayers are.

 _What are its current limits?_

The only major limit that my magic has right now is that I can't both accelerate and decelerate something at the same time. I either have to be using the Fast part of my magic, or the Slow part of it. I can't do both, as much as it sucks.

Ok, after some testing, I figured out that Speed Magic has some built-in safety measures. I can't unwillingly harm my own body when using it. Gear Second is an exception, as is my own regeneration ability. I've been thinking too vague, throwing around shit like _limits_ and stuff like that. I think the only limit is myself… Gotta change that don't I? If I want to survive in this crazy, noisy, weird as fuck world.

 ** _This is fun David-sama! Juvia wants to get a Diary too!_**

Juvia, it's not a….

I mean you call it that….

But… Fuck she's right. I have a Diary, goddamnit. If I couldn't fucking smack someone at the speed of sound, I'd really be embarrassed.

Anyway, I think I've got enough down for now. All the stuff I know about speed magic, an intro, _Juvia stop poking me I swear to god._

But I've decided that I'm gonna write everything down in here, so I can always look back on it. Once I learn Requip, or fucking X-quip or whatever the hell they called it, I'll write some more stuff in here. Maybe I should look into archive magic… Can't remember what fuck boy in Blue Pegasus had it. Anyway, ending this off. Juvia's practically dragging me out the door at this point. I gotta make a reservation tomorrow, I'll pick this up later.

...

I _have to_ stop lying to myself. Look where it's got me. Up shit creek without a paddle.

I'm not in some anime world. This world is just as real as my old one, and I've gotten a second chance at life that I need to takeby the reigns. I won't get a third chance.


End file.
